Release Your Problems
by PuppeteerOllie
Summary: Hiccup is a distant student suffering from anxiety and over the years has drifted out of the crowd and away from his friends, who he misses. He finds solace in music and decides to pursue it. Modern AU. Hiccstrid. Rated M for language and there will be sex in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: How To Train Your Dragon and it's characters are owned by Dreamworks. Except where noted, all lyrics are original and may not be re-produced in any shape or form without prior permission

* * *

"Pens down!"

Hundreds of them clattered on plastic desks, and I let out a huff. That was it. My finals were over. 8 weeks of nothing on my shoulders, and no-_one _to interact with me. Everyone around me began to talk at once.

"Thank gods that's over!"  
"I wonder how I went!"  
"I swear, if Mr Thorston fails me, I'm gonna kill myself, Heather!"

Heather? Oh gods...that's right, she's right next to me. Ever since I was a freshman in Middle school all she ever wanted to do was get close to me, for reasons unknown, but she's everything I'm not and not what I want or need. She's the center of attention, at the top of this school and is on the receiving end of many cat calls, wolf-whistles and one night stands. I don't know; maybe its her jet black hair or piercing eyes that put me off. That, and she takes pride in her reputation, and I'll never understand why. If I was ever put into that situation with someone, I'd want...it to mean something. Not just "Good morning, gotta run, don't call!"

One girl I came to love over the years has been my friend since kindergarten, but now that she has a job somewhere and I'm...me, the lean, rich kid who barely speaks and has his head stuck in a sketchbook, we haven't spoken in a while, and I miss her company. Sure I see her in the yard, fixing her complicated braid of blond hair and adjusting her favorite red tank top, which suits her perfectly, but she barely has time for conversation. Just a wave and a smile is all that seems to happen now.

Ah, who am I kidding? It's not her fault, its mine. Ever since I got bad I found myself slowly pulling away from my friends as the teasing started. 'Useless' and 'Fishbone', Scott "Snotlout" Jorgenson and his Jockey Posse started calling me, among other things. Withdrawn from my friends, I started marching to my own drum and that's how its been for a while. Just me, my parents and my black cat Toothless. Hopefully, this Summer, I can make a change. Hopefully, I can make friends again.

"Psst! Hiccup!" I mentally groaned and swung my head to the left, brushing some of my auburn hair our of my green eyes.

"Hi Heather," I said politely.

"My parents are out of town this weekend, do you wanna...hang out?" she asked, something off was dripping from her tongue. Oh no not _that_!

"Uh, Heather, I..." _Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing! _I jumped out of my seat and power-walked to the exit before I said anything else. I looked behind me, but it didn't work. She was hot on my heels and matched my pace so accurately she ended up next to me once again. I could feel my chest starting to constrict and my breathing became shallow and rapid.

"Come on, Hiccup," she cooed, as she snaked a slender arm around me. I flinched and brushed her off. It was getting worse. I hadn't had an attack in 2 weeks.

"Please don't touch me, Heather. Be like everyone else and leave me alone," I said sharply.

"But Hiccup, you're alone too much and I thought you could use the company-"

"I DON'T WANT YOUR COMPANY!" I exploded. Everyone around me fell silent. I was saying no to Heather, something no one had ever seen, heard or even _done_ before. You _do not _do that to Heather. It was "common sense", apparently. I could feel all the eyes staring at me, and I foresaw how much shit I'd be copping.

"I have to go," I huffed. "Enjoy your summer." I jogged out the front door leaving everyone in the gym foyer stunned. I had never snapped like that before. My chest was about to burst at the seams and tears started stinging my eyes. _Don't cry, Hiccup. _I wiped my tears with the cuff of my sleeve and ran across the courtyard that started to flood with my peers and I kept my head down, not wanting anyone to notice me. I shuffled through the torrent of screaming teens and hurried down the corridor to my locker. Opening it quickly, I stopped for a moment and took deep breaths, in and out, in and out. My ribs slowly started to give. I blinked twice and grabbed my red bag already packed with my old books and slammed the locker door shut. I pivoted on my heel and saw the familiar tank top. _Astrid's locker was right across from mine? How did I not-?_

"Of course you didn't know, Fishbone," I whispered bitterly. "You're too busy wallowing in your self pity!" I shook my head quickly and started to make my way down the parade of work-paper confetti and deafening roars of triumph when I heard-

"Hiccup!" my heart skipped a beat. I slowly spun around and struggled to maintain a straight face. Astrid was standing in front of me and looking at me, her deepest of deep blue eyes boring into mine. I could sense some concern in her. She looked determined.

"Uh, hi Astrid...been a while," I said nervously, giving her a little wave.

"Walk with me." She demanded. So I obeyed. We slowly started to walk through the paper rain together. "Are you okay?" she asked urgently.

"Uh...yeah, why wouldn't I be?" I lied.

"Hiccup, I heard what happened. And I know when you're lying to me. You're rubbing the back of your neck." Oh gods, was I? I snapped my right hand away from my neck. "You always do that when you're nervous."

"Seems you know more about me than I do," I quipped. She smiled slightly.

"But seriously, Hiccup, I heard you yelled at Heather. Have you had another attack?" I snapped to attention.

"Wait, what do you mean, another attack? How do you know I was okay for the past two weeks? And how on earth do you know what's been going on with me?"

"Give me a little credit, Henry." She never called me Henry unless it was serious. "We may rarely speak anymore, but I know what you're going through, even from afar." She was looking out for me? Even after my selfish decision to shut everyone out. _She is my best friend, after all. She deserves to know._ I sighed and took another breath in.

"Honestly, yeah. Heather was pining for me to spend the weekend with her, and it made me uncomfortable, so I snapped." I admitted. The sunlight suddenly hit my eyes. We were now out in the parking lot.

"As in, like..." her eyes widened. "Oh, Hiccup, I'm sorry to hear that."

"I just wish she'd acknowledge my need for space and understand that I'm not into her like that-or anyone, for that matter!" I said quickly. But of course it wasn't the truth. I won't lie, I've imagined Astrid and I together like that, and it meant something to us in that dream, but she could never find out. I doubt she loves me like I do, her. I was focussing on my black Chuck Taylor sneakers when I felt a hand touch mine. I looked up at the blue eyes again.

"I know you'll sort this out Hiccup," Astrid reassured me. She ran her thumb over my palm. I smiled at her touch. "And I know you'll want to try and resolve this by yourself, but if you ever need to talk, you know where to find me." For the first time in ages, I was actually smiling.

"Thank you, Astrid," I said sincerely. "Means a lot."

"Hey, what are friends for?" she laughed. I smiled again. A car horn sounded. "Oh, that's Mum," Astrid said hurriedly. Before I knew it, she let go of me and raced away. I watched her run off.

"You're amazing!" I heard her call out. I chuckled at that. Maybe this summer wouldn't be so bad. I had Astrid back in my life, hopefully I could get everyone else back.

I broke away from the massing crowd and made my way to my car, a black Volkswagen Golf. I opened the driver's side, dumped my bag in the back and sat down. Coming from a rich family, people might've done a double take when they realized I had a 2004 Golf when I could be driving something a little more...now, I guess. But I don't like to spend my money too much and as you could imagine, I don't want to stand out. I gunned it to town and drove towards the beach, as I always do on a Friday after school. I turned on the radio, suddenly aware of how quiet it was, which is stupid because I am _always _quiet.

"...new music coming out from Australian singer, Chet Faker today. This is from his debut album "Built On Glass", you're listening to "Talk Is Cheap." Suddenly, a ringing saxophone flooded the car and began to play a descending melody. Soon after it was joined by hand claps and finger snaps. I was surprised at how D.I.Y. this music sounded. It was a Hel of a lot different to what I hear on the radio, which I'm not all too fond of. And then the singer's voice escaped the speakers. He was mellow, soulful and even sounded vulnerable. This voice was beautiful, and it was different, and I liked it. I made it to the waterfront by the second verse, and I watched the sun prepare its descent into the sea. It was soothing, the mellow music and the waves, almost working together to slowly shut my eyes. I spoke to Astrid. I found good music. I felt comfortable.


	2. Chapter 2

**Lyrics in bold are property of Nicholas Murphy, aka Chet Faker.**

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I awoke not too long after Faker lulled me to sleep, the sun still high up and beating down on me. I rubbed my eyes and stretched my legs, careful not to kick the accelerator and swung the door open, resting my feet on the asphalt. The sea air invigorated me with every breath and tickled my scalp as my hair rustled in the salty wind. I stood up, feeling refreshed for the first time in...ever, really, and surveyed my surroundings. Behind my car, across the road was a cluster of cafes and small restaurants, and behind them up a hill, which doubled as a park with elm trees lining the sidewalk was the Berk Shopping Complex that took up around three blocks. Deciding a walk might do me even more good, I locked up the car and crossed the street to head up the hill. I ascended the hill next to a water feature that took up the middle of the concrete stairwell, flowing all the way down to a little pond that recycled the water back up to the top, giving the impression of a flowing river. I regarded the fountain with a smile, remembering what my mother used to tell me. _A river does not simply stop when faced by rocks, son. It seeps through the cracks and keeps on flowing. _After what went on in the last hour, I feel as if I can keep going just like the river fountain. Let the positivity keep coming, I thought to myself as I crossed the lights at the top of the hill. But of course, I had to jinx it, as 50 yards away, my cousin Scott and his Jockey Posse, unmistakable in their Berk High Viking varsity jackets, were walking in my direction. My heart sank and I froze, frantically looking for somewhere to hide. I could only go left, because my only options were the open road on my right (Why not end it all now to appease Snotlout and everyone else?) Argh, shut up, brain! Focus. I calmly turned and entered the first door that I saw, which was right in front of me. It was a dark foyer, and I hung by the tinted glass door keeping an eye out for Scott and his friends, and they went straight past. I let out the breath I was apparently holding and mentally scolded myself for ruining my inner peace.

I spun around and took a few steps in when I realized I was in a music shop. To my left there was a glass display case with miniature novelty drum kits and guitars, and to my right was a glass wall that separated the entry hall to a room lined with guitars, both acoustic and electric. Lightning bolts and V's were all lined up against one wall and some generically shaped acoustic guitars with differing stains on the top of the body. I walked further down the hallway and saw the service desk, at the back of the room of guitars and another room to my left, which had stacks of music books, software, turntables and pianos. Grand, baby grand and electric, all filling up the cascading room. If you went under an archway through the left wall of the piano room, you'd find yourself surrounded by drums, cymbals and more sticks than you could poke someone with. My eyes widened in wonder and surprise at how many instruments there were, but I was drawn towards the small electronic keyboard and DJ equipment, which were hooked up to a little amplifier under the table they sat on. I took piano lessons when I was little, and I could still play, but I gave up on lessons a while ago. We have a baby grand that's black as Toothless at home, which I would muck around on from time to time, but I didn't care much for the music in the book on the stand. The little keyboard and a module I was unfamiliar with that sat behind it were already on. The module in question had around 20 white, squidgy looking, square shaped buttons on them. Some of them were glowing different colours. I pressed one that was illuminated by a green light from underneath the panel and I got the sound of a kick drum. I gasped in surprise, and impulsively hit a blue one, which resulted in a metallic tap, which in real life would be what happens when you hit a...hi hat, I think? In elementary school we took music and we learned the anatomy of a drum kit but the weird words flew over my head, so I was unfamiliar with most of the terminology. Looking for another one to hit, I found a red button and got a hand clap. I could make a beat! I grinned like a child, giggling giddily and went about my "drumming." _Boom!-tss-clap!-tss-boom!-tss-clap!-tss! _over and over again. I was laughing with glee as I made a beat. I hadn't had so much fun ever.

I stopped after a little bit and noticed my fingers were still twitching to the beat I had made. It was stuck in my head. I relaxed my hands and looked over to the little black keyboard. I had no idea what to do. Should I just tinker with it, like at home? Why not? I thought. I hit three random keys, Black-white-white, going down, then I suddenly stopped. This sounded familiar...I hit the next black key down and came back up to the white one...hang on, its the song that was on the radio! How the hel was I doing this?! I can't just play songs by ear! I'm not that good! Whatever. I pushed these alarming thoughts out of my mind and kept mucking around with the keys, and after a couple of mistakes I figured out the organ melody by ear and what chords went with them. My heart was racing at what I was doing. I was excited! A thought came into my head and I went straight to autopilot. I found myself staring at my smartphone, which had lyrics on the screen and my fingers dancing over the keys. What happened next, I have no idea how it came to be.

**Oh so, your weak rhyme**  
**You doubt I'll bother reading into it**  
**I'll probably won't**  
**Left to my own devices**  
**But that's the difference in our opinions**

**You're a mouthful**  
**That amounts for another week on my own**  
**Now I'm a novel made resourceful**  
**I start a chain with my thought**

**Talk is cheap, my darling**  
**When you're feeling right at home**  
**I wanna make you move with confidence**  
**I wanna be with you alone**

**Said help me help you start it**  
**You're too comfortable to know**  
**Throwing out those words**  
**Oh, you gotta feel it on your own**

**Cold pain**  
**I cannot sustain it**  
**That's what I'm thinking**  
**Not what I'm drinking**

**I hold up my ways**  
**These thoughts are pervasive**  
**It's not a statement**  
**But peace can be evasive**

**You're a mouthful**  
**That amounts for another week on my own**  
**Now I'm a novel made resourceful**  
**I start a chain with my thought**

**Talk is cheap, my darling**  
**When you're feeling right at home**  
**I wanna make you move with confidence**  
**I wanna be with you alone**

**Said help me help you start it**  
**You're too comfortable to know**  
**Throwing out those words**  
**Oh, you gotta feel it on your own**

**Talk is cheap, my darling**  
**When you're feeling right at home**  
**I wanna make you move with confidence**  
**I wanna be with you alone**

**Said help me help you start it**  
**You're too comfortable to know**  
**Throwing out those words**  
**Oh, you gotta feel it on your own **

"Hiccup?"

I spun around in fright and saw Astrid Hofferson smiling at me.

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**Loving the response I've been getting. Thanks to all who have followed and favourited. Please please review. I look forward to and take in any and all feedback.**

**-Ollie**


	3. Chapter 3

I was being watched the whole time? Astrid was there, just looking at me with wide eyes. My first instinct would've been to run, but where? Astrid was blocking my path to the front door and I don't think I'd know where the back entrance was. I was stock still, my chest began to swell for the second time again, but I remained composed and relaxed my tense posture.

"Astrid...give me a minute, please?" She nodded, her expression now contorted, but understanding. I flashed a quick smile and crossed the room to go into the next one, where all the drums were. I leaned against an empty wall and did my routine. In and out, went my breaths, and eventually I calmed down. I walked back into the piano room and found Astrid leaning next to the equipment I was messing with, staring at my phone which was propped up against the wall. I approached her and tapped her lightly on the shoulder.

"Ahem, you were watching me the whole time?" I asked. She looked at me and nodded.

"Yeah. Well, not the whole time," she explained. "I was out the back unpacking some new stock when I heard you having the time of your life on the sampling pad (Oh, that's what it's called!) and I came in to find you singing and playing."

"Wait, you work _here_?" I asked, perplexed. She pointed to a tag pinned to her left breast, which read:

THE FORGE MUSIC SHOP  
ASTRID

"What do you think this is for, silly?" she teased as she gave me her signature jab on the shoulder. I rubbed my arm as she handed me my phone.

"So I take it you're a fan of Chet Faker?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah. I only listened to him for the first time today, though. Are you a fan?"

"Are you kidding? I love him."

Wait, when did you find him out?" I asked, surprised.

"I was on vacation in Australia last year with my parents. We were staying in this place called Melbourne and my...my mother took us out to this little venue in the city, and Chet happened to be on the bill and I bought his E.P. the day after."

"Oh, what was he like?"

"Pretty impressive. He had the crowd running from the get-go and his stage presence was so...humble, I guess. He's just a guy making music, really."

"Huh, humble...why can't musicians be more like Chet Faker then?" I quipped. "I know!" we both chuckled for a moment.

"But Hiccup, what you just did...that was...amazing," she breathed. "You really think so?" I asked.

"Absolutely. I've never seen that side of you before...in the zone, enjoying yourself so much and you're voice! It's...beautiful...and wait, you said you only listened to Chet Faker today?" I nodded.

"And you managed to figure out how to play 'Talk Is Cheap' in a matter of minutes?" I looked back over at the keyboard.

"I guess so," I said slowly. "Hiccup, you're a freak at music!" I didn't know how to react to such enthusiasm, so I just shrugged my shoulders and smiled.

"You have a wonderful gift. And after seeing how much happier you were, I strongly advise you keep going with it." She was right, I was noticeably happier, but...

"I don't know Astrid...I've never really committed to anything."

"It's just like drawing, Hiccup, only you're drawing with noises and notes, rather than lines. You still have your piano, right?" I nodded. "Good. Go home and play as often as you can. It'll help you release your problems-with all respect."

"Clever reference to Faker," I smirked. She laughed. Gods, how much I could hear her laugh for hours on end. I smiled into her blue eyes and she stood there, seemingly frozen in time. After a minute of silence, I suddenly realized what I was doing.

"I uh...I better head home."

"Yeah, I uh...better...get back to it!" Wait, was she doing the same as me? I briskly walked to the door but I was immediately stopped from reaching the door-handle.

"Hey, Hiccup!" I turned around.

"Yeah?"

"Your eyes are really pretty," Astrid giggled.

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My eyes are really pretty...Astrid's voice kept running rings around my head on the drive home. Maybe I was wrong about how she felt about me. I shrugged my shoulders at the thought.

"Never know," I said to myself. It took about twenty minutes to get from the city plaza up to the hills, where I live. My family lives on a massive property with a sprawling backyard, with different sized netted enclosures. More on that later. The house, well more of a mansion, really, sits at the end of a gravel driveway and has two stories, with a marble bench-top kitchen, open living and dining area and a grand staircase leading up to our four bedrooms. Mum and Dad's room, mine, the Guestroom and my rec room, which had a desk I use for study, browsing the web or doodling, a TV and game console and a couch for any guests I might have over. Only one body shape remained embedded into the furnishings. Pulling into the drive, I couldn't see my dad's Mercedes, so it looked like it was just me and Mum for the moment. As soon as I stepped out of the car, I heard a _hoot! _I smiled, realizing Mum was outside. I jogged around the outside of the house and slowed at the edge of the lap pool, looking out over the backyard. Mum was in the biggest netted enclosure with her red owl, Cloudjumper. An owl, you might wonder? My Mum works at the zoo, specializing in birds of prey. She'll nurse rescued birds back to health or even bring some home so they can learn to fly again, hence the enclosures. Cloudjumper was a special case though. He was brought to the Zoo from China as a young owl to eventually be added to the bird-show my mother runs daily, but a few days into settling in, he got frightened by a snake that had climbed up his tree and fell, breaking his wing. Mum took him home to nurse him back to health, and after he made a full recovery, the Zoo actually asked my mother to keep Cloudjumper as her pet and to set up a rehabilitation program for birds of a similar fate, using Cloudjumper as a bird the patients could interact with. It's been going on for about 3 years and its proven to be a great success, healing birds to be released back into the wild or to be looked after by the Zoo. I walked down to the enclosure my mother and Cloudjumper were in, grabbing a leather glove on my way over. Mum was wearing a yellow t-shirt, which contrasted drastically with the leather glove she wore on her left arm, and khaki pants.

"Hey Mum," I greeted as I shut the door. I stroked Cloudjumper's belly and his eyes closed at my touch. "Hey bud."

"How was your last day?" Mum asked as she kissed my cheek.

"It was uh, eventful!" I answered.

"Oh? How so?" she asked as Cloudjumper launched off her arm and perched on a tree branch way up high. I told her about Heather. Her face contorted into concern.

"I-it's okay, though!" I continued. "Guess who I spoke to today?" her expression softened and she smiled again. "You spoke to Astrid?"

"Yeah! It was like we never grew apart, Mum. She confronted me about Heather and offered support."

"Good for you, my boy," she smiled.

"That and...I think I wanna take up music again."

"Oh really? What changed your mind?"

Well, I found out where Astrid works, which is the music shop-"

"You mean the one Gobber owns?" Gobber was an old family friend and piqued my interest in music when I was little. He had a band back in Scotland with my Dad, when they were growing up but I hadn't seen Gobber in so long I didn't know he worked there.

"Gobber owns the music shop? Huh! Well anyway, I THOUGHT I was by myself and I started playing and...singing, and Astrid was watching me the whole time. She said I should keep going with it and told me I was gifted."

"Well, she's not wrong, son," Mum said as she ruffled my hair. "You are very good at piano and music has proven to be very therapeutic for people's mental health. Heed her advice, Hiccup. It'd be nice for you to do something other than drawing dragons." Oh yeah, all I draw are dragons. I regarded this for a moment and nodded.

"Yeah. Thanks Mum. I'm gonna head inside -do you want anything?"

"No thanks."

I exited the aviary and jogged back up to the house.


	4. Chapter 4

**Lyrics in bold are by me, and if you would like to use them, please don't hesitate to message me and I'll give you the go-ahead.**

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As soon as I came inside, I turned a hard left and I saw the piano, just sitting there, waiting for me to come over. I approached it slowly, for some reason. I think I was a little apprehensive about what might come forth from my fingers and hammer on the strings. As I got closer, I smiled and chuckled through my nose, as I regarded the previously unseen black cat, fast asleep on the lid. I sat down quietly and I secured the pedal that dampened the strings inside the piano, greatly reducing the volume of playing so I didn't disturb Toothless too much. I played Talk is Cheap again, this time with fewer mistakes and I managed to maintain a steady tempo all the way through, and sang at just above a whisper, for the sake of my friendly feline.

After I channel Chet, so to speak, I started tinkering with the keys again, but this time I payed attention to what I was playing and I made the necessary adjustments to what I felt worked and didn't. I had come up with several riffs, my favorite one being upbeat, kind of like one of Chet. Gods, how influential he was within a matter of hours! I felt like this could go somewhere right in that moment. I kept coming up with more stuff to accompany my riff, and before I knew it I was writing music on the blank pad of manuscript paper that was sitting behind a piano book. I began to feel really good about myself. I was coming up with a song. My mother and Astrid were right. I felt great! Now...how would I go about with lyrics? I was really good at English, behind design, and I would always be one of the few who actually looked forward to creative writing. But writing lyrics felt like something different. I wasn't writing a fictional story with a clear setting, or a solid idea of who my fictional characters should be, I was trying to write something that seemed...personal. Whatever good songs I would hear, I found the best ones were more often than not, personal. It made sense because the singer knew what they were talking about, and how close to home it hit them. The melody in my mind, I began to notate words that came into my head.

**Cast my shadow on the floor, leave me and myself alone  
Dissipate, pass through their sight, pressure creaks and breaks my bones**  
**Drifted off into the night, the light to help me fight a fight  
to end all fights...end all fights  
Existence in the imminent decision of provision, take my hand and pull me into the collision  
I want you to feel me...just like I need to feel youuuuuuu...**

I stopped there, realizing what I'd just written. This was me. I was astonished that I actually pulled off writing a verse, and about what I've been going through. I was eager to get back to it, but not before Toothless stretched, yawned and jumped down into my lap. I scratched his chin and laughed.

"Aw, did I wake you up, big baby boo?" I teased. He smacked his lips, but if I didn't know any better, he was going _blah blah,_ blah. My cat was curiously as intelligent as any other. As he settled down I kept writing.

**The beat of my drum, fades to none  
Hell awaits until you find me on the run  
Last thing I wanna do is lose ya  
So will you go ahead and let me intrude ya?  
Let you know what I've been through, and how much I neeeeeed you...I need you more than you'll ever know...**

I huffed out a breath. A verse and a chorus, I thought. It was something, all right. And I felt something else, like a weight had been lifted from me. I finally managed to get some of the million feelings I feel every day off of my chest and turned them into something artistic. I looked down at Toothless, who was purring like a motorcycle.

"What do you think, bud? You like it?" He balanced on his hind legs, resting his front paws on my chest and craned his neck to lick my chin with his rough tongue. I laughed and rubbed my cheek along his, which he responded to with even more purring.

"I'll take that as a yes," I laughed. I'll work more on this later, I thought. I needed to tell someone. I looked outside and I saw Mum and Cloudjumper working with a hawk that had a sling around its right wing. Later. Dad still wasn't here...Astrid. I hoped I kept her number in my phone. I'd never tell her this, but I thought of her throughout the writing. I mentally hoped she wouldn't figure out the meaning behind my song, but she knew me better than I gave her credit for. Oh well. Que Sera. I carried Toothless over to the couch, sat down and opened up my phone. I found her number in my contacts (Yes!) and hit her name. After about three rings, she picked up.

"Hello, Astrid speaking?" My insides fluttered.

"Hey Astrid, it's Hiccup."

"Oh Hiccup, hi! Your name didn't show up on the screen, so I didn't recognize you."

"Oh, was it blocked?"

"Yeah it was...am I really that despicable?" she asked. She sounded in pain. I began tripping over my words which flew out of my mouth.

"Oh no, Astrid, I-I didn't..." I heard her laugh.

"Hiccup, I'm just messing with you, its all good!" I relaxed.

"Oh, thank gods...um, how was work?"

"Pretty good actually! A customer ordered in a guitar so gorgeous, I wanted to take it home with me. Not sure if you know, but I still play."

"Oh really? That's great! Piano as well?"

"Yeah!" There was a pause between us that dragged out a little bit.

"So how can-"  
"I wanted to-"

We both laughed.

"Sorry, you go first," I beckoned.

"Okay. Uh, this call was completely unexpected, what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Well, I just wanted to tell you that...I took your advice and I'm writing a song!"

"Really? Hiccup, that's amazing! How's it coming along?"

"I've surprised myself, to be honest. I thought it was gonna end up being average but I'm very happy with how's it all coming together."

"That's great Hiccup, I'm very proud of you."

"Thanks," I smiled. "Would you...like to hear it?"

"Yeah, sure! Just on here or...?" That made me think a little bit. I hadn't had a friend over in so long. It's time to make a change, Haddock. You're gonna invite her over. You _are._

"Actually, what are you doing right now?" I asked.

"I'm just about to leave the food court with my dinner, why?"

"Okay, because...I was wondering if you'd m-maybe... I dunno...wanna come over?" I stammered.

"Is Hiccup Haddock inviting me to his humble abode to play? Who'd have thought such preposterous motives would be running around the brain of such a boy?" She teased with a posh accent. She was too funny. "I'd love to. Are your parents cool with it?"

"Don't you remember what my Dad said when we were little?" I asked. _My turn. _"Astrid!" I boomed with a Scottish accent. "You're family to us! You are always welcome here!" Astrid wouldn't stop laughing. Then she fired back with the most hilarious -and slightly offensive- thing I'd heard in ages.

"Dad, can she stay the night? Can she please?" she pleaded in a voice that was very nasal. I laughed in surprise.

"Astrid, I do NOT sound like that!" I said between laughs. We were laughing harder.

"You kinda do, Hiccup!"

"Argh, okay just...just_ be silent," _I said in a deeper version of my voice. She chuckled.

"So when do you want me to come over?"

"Uh, now...if that's okay, of course," I assured her.

"Done. On the road right now."

"Okay, see you soon!"

"Bye, Hiccup."

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**Hey guys, I've been thinking...those of you who are musicians, I'd love to hear your interpretations of the songs Hiccup writes. PM me a Youtube link or something similar. To get an idea of the tempo and melody of the song, think of Firework. More reviews! I love you guys  
**

**-Ollie**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you all for the massive response. Lyrics in bold are by me****_.  
_If someone, a drawer, could get in touch with me, I'd like a cover picture for the story please. Will give you deets through PM.  
**

**SUPPORT AUSTRALIAN MUSIC!**

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I was spazzing out. I'd just invited Astrid Hofferson over. I felt my chest swell and my nerves kicked in, but surprisingly, there was little fear. Just a lot of excitement. Still holding Toothless, I bolted upstairs to my room, adorned with the typical teenage decor. Queen size bed, old mirror leaned against the wall, clothes lightly scrambled about on the carpet, you get the idea. The way my bedroom differs, I think though, is I have several canvasses of Dragons based on my old friend's pets. Freddy, known to us as "Fishlegs", has a bulldog called Meatlug, and I turned her into what I called a Gronkle. The twins, Ruth and Thom, or Ruff and Tuff, called that due to their rough-and-tumble relationship that usually comes up in mirrored siblings, have a snake that was born with two heads, Barf and Belch. The Hideous Zippleback, I called them. I don't think either Scott or Astrid have pets, so I haven't been able to come up with something for them. Finally, my personal favourite, Toothless had been painted as a jet black dragon, not unlike an Axolotl (for some weird reason), and I called him a Night Fury. Those, and I also had a swanky en-suite, but that's no big deal.

Setting Toothless down on my bed, I pulled my green v-neck over my head and took a second to assess my body in the mirror. It had changed quite significantly over the past two years. When I was fifteen, my legs and arms would've been as easy as a twig to snap and stomp on. Now, after much nagging from my mother that I get a little exercise to ease my mind, I now had toned arms with veins on proud display, and slightly stronger muscles. I don't know why, but some people associate veins on hands with masculinity, although it did make me look more my age and I liked them. I hit a growth spurt around last year and along with it my body began to lean out, leaving my torso a little fuller and the faint criss-crosses of my abdominals could be seen if you looked close enough. I was in decent shape, but not much to look at, at least in my opinion. No one's ever seen all of me, but they constantly gesture to all of me, much to my annoyance. Atop the freckles on my chest rested a pewter celtic knot on a leather necklace. It was my dad's growing up over in Europe and he gave it to me on my last birthday. He said that the one strand in the knot symbolizes the eternity of life. I'm not a big believer in those gemstone or good luck charms in those little souvenir shops, but for some reason, I clung to my dad's gift in the hope that I might be able to find something to keep me going. It felt like it was finally working.

I walked over to my walk-in-robe that was adjoined to my bathroom and selected a blue button up shirt with a design on it like black scales, or something or other. I didn't know what they were but it was one of my favorite shirts. I was still in my light green cargo shorts, and decided to leave them as they were. I walked back into the bedroom and stood at the end of my bed, in front of Toothless. He looked at me as soon as I came in.

"I don't look too bad, do I?" I asked him. He just looked back down and started cleaning his face with his paw. "Well, you're no help." I huffed. I went back downstairs and sat on the couch, waiting for her to arrive. My heart was racing. My first friend in my house in nearly forever. After about five minutes, there was a knock on the door. _Deep breaths, Haddock. It's gonna be okay. _Yeah. It's gonna be okay. It's gonna be GREAT! I walked over to the door, looking through the peephole. Astrid, still in her red tank top and blue jeans. I swung the door open a little too quick and she was smiling at me.

"Hey there, stranger," she said. I chuckled.

"Hi," I said quietly. I moved for her so she could come in and she set her bag next to the shoes. Soon as it hit the floor she brought me into a hug. I was surprised at this gesture, but after smelling her sweet perfume and feeling her so close to me, I practically melted into her, holding her tight.

"Astrid Hofferson, do my eyes deceive me?" we heard someone say. We looked over to the living room and saw my mother, staring wide eyed at Astrid whilst hanging up her leather glove. I slowly let go of Astrid and we walked down the three steps of the landing and into the living room. Mum held her arms open to Astrid as we approached.

"Come here, sweetie! I haven't seen you in so long." They both laughed and exchanged friendly kisses and a quick hug. "I cannot believe how tall you've gotten, Astrid."

"Hey, what about Hiccup? He's as tall as me now!" Astrid exclaimed, looking at me. I was sitting on the arm of the couch, watching the events unfold with a grin.

"To be honest, I don't feel tall. I know I am, but I still feel like the midget I was in Middle School." I shrugged.

"Oh please, you're a tall, dark stranger, Haddock." Astrid. "And a handsome one at that!" I laughed and shook my head. "You're too much, Hofferson."

"I can't get over how beautiful you are, Astrid," Mum said. "Hiccup?" I was tempted to say that she was more than beautiful, but that'd just make things awkward. I covered those thoughts up with a mischievous grin. "If you say so," I teased. Astrid jabbed me in the arm and we both laughed.

"Come on, Hiccup. Admit it. You think I'm gorgeous." she pined. I kept my lips pursed in a smile and shook my head slowly. Suddenly, Astrid poked me in the ribs, sending me backwards over the arm of the couch and landing on the cushions, giggling a short burst of laughter. Then I felt her tickle my bare feet, an easy target up in the air. My nerves were set alight and I couldn't stop laughing.

"Astrid! S-Stop it! STOP IT!" I screamed in-between laughs. "Only if you say that I'm beautiful," she said simply.

"Just kill me now!"

"That can be arranged!" she retorted cheerfully. Her fingers stopped at my feet and moved up to my belly. It was getting worse! I was bound to explode at any second.

"Okay okay okay, stop!" I cried. "You're beautiful." She stopped immediately and after spending a minute staring at the back of my eyelids or the other end of the couch, I looked up and saw Astrid cracking her knuckles, and the biggest smirk I'd ever seen. Cute.

"Works every time." she chuckled. She held out a hand and I was pulled back up into a sitting position on the couch arm. Astrid sat next to me and we both looked at my Mum, who was looking at us with...grateful eyes.

"Astrid, I cannot tell you how thankful I am you reached out to Hiccup." she said softly. "Having you back in his life, he's evidently happier than he's ever been."

"Why wouldn't I, Valka?" Astrid asked as she put a hand on my shoulder. "He's my best friend." As soon as I heard that, my insides leaped and I felt a tear slide down my cheek. Mum noticed straight away.

"Are you all right, sweetheart?" I hurriedly brushed it away.

"I'm fine," I sniffed. "Just noticeably happier," I quipped. Mum laughed and stood up, walking towards the front landing.

"I'm going for a run. Stoick will be home soon. Will you two be alright til then?" Astrid and I both nodded and Mum went outside with her runners, leaving us in the living room. It was silent, but it was a friendly silence. Astrid and I, just taking in each other's company. After some point, Astrid stood up and walked over to the piano.

"Haven't seen this thing in a long time," she said as she sat down. I walked over and sat next to her. "Yeah. Still in good condition," I smiled. She looked at me and glanced her eyes in the direction of the keys.

"Huh?" I asked. Then I remembered. "Oh! Right! Well..." I wanted to play for Astrid, but my chest started swelling again. I began to get nervous. "It's not done, and it's probably not even worth-"

"Henry," she interrupted. "Just play the damn song." Whoa! Alright! Since when did Astrid become Sass-trid? I took a breath and played and sang the verse I wrote earlier.

"Hiccup, that was really good." she said, in awe. "Everything flowed well together and I could...feel your emotion very clearly. How did you feel after writing this?"

"I felt...relieved, actually. Like, I finally got some of the millions feelings in me off my chest. I felt good."

"How do you feel now?"

"...Even better," I smiled. We looked at each other for a little bit and I got lost in her eyes. "Can I try?" she asked, snapping me out of it.

"Uh yeah, sure." I said whilst scooting over so she could have more room. She immediately picked up my melody and started playing it flawlessly. Then something else happened. She was singing.

**Herein lies the wounded one, staring down the barrel of a gun  
shoved in the mouth of a crooked son who lost the meaning of the word fun**  
**Left to wither, left to wilt, head stuck on a permanent tilt, what did it take for you to spill unto the crumbling of your will?**

**Existence in the imminent decision of provision, take my hand and pull me into the collision  
Can you feel me?...'Cause I can feel youuuuuuu...**

She looked at me and stopped. She smiled and nodded, and I nodded back, understanding what she wanted to happen.

**The beat of my drum, fades to none  
Hell awaits until you find me on the run  
Last thing I wanna do is lose ya  
So will you go ahead and let me intrude ya?  
Let you know what I've been through, and how much I neeeeeed you...I need you more than you'll ever know...**

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**NEW LYRICS* **


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey everyone. This is long overdue but here are some shoutouts for reviewers.**

**MrsAvanJogia: YOU'RE amazing. Stay Perfect ;) I stole your thing haha**

**UnbreakableWarrior: Thanks mate, glad you like it.**

**AngryHenry: Haha yeah I thought Hiccup should have some long overdue roughhousing. **

**jaytietge: I'm considering actually arranging these songs at some stage :D (although I can't sing as well as I used to haha) and thank you so much**

**Twest: Yeah, I'm surprised that the vibe ended up the way it is now.**

**I LOVE YOU ALL. SUPPORT AUSTRALIAN MUSIC!**

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It was virtually done! I couldn't help but laugh in utter joy.

"Astrid, we made a song!" I exclaimed, looking at her with wide eyes.

"Yeah." That was all she said. "Are you okay?" I asked, concerned. After a long period of silence, she spoke.

"I feel bad, Hiccup," she said, her voice quivering and her eyes downcast.

"Why?"

"I'm worried I offended you," she said. "What? Why would you have offended me? That was amazing," I said, rubbing her back.

"Thanks, but, on reflection, I realized that when you were singing...you were singing directly to me, and I wanted to respond to you, because I could feel your pain, but the words came out wrong in my head. That, and I'm upset I didn't reach out to you a lot sooner. I'm so sorry, Hiccup."

Oh.

"No, no Astrid, its okay. In a way, you already had," I said honestly, touching her hand to get her attention.

"Really?" My eyes bored into hers as she looked at me once again.

"Yes. You said yourself, you were looking out for me even from afar, and the thought of that is beyond comforting to me. And you know I'm not one to hold a grudge...and I honestly didn't think anyone was paying me positive attention, so...thank you." And I did something I never dared to do, ever. I leaned forward and pecked her on the cheek. I withdrew instantaneously, realizing what I did.

"Sorry," I whispered, rubbing the nape of my neck. Then I felt knuckles nick my shoulder.

"For what?" I looked over at Astrid, and she was smiling again. We both laughed quietly. I swung one leg over the other side of the stool so I could look at her directly.

"Hey, I saw what you did there with Scott; He really doesn't know how to have fun anymore, hey?"

"Yeah, he's a douche," Astrid stated.

"You know, I think he and Heather are perfect for each other," I thought aloud. Astrid stifled a laugh and slowly let it out.

"What?!" she cackled.

"If you think about it, she's always been after me, he's always been after you, but we shove it back in their faces. PERFECT MATCH!" I cried, mashing my hands together so my fingers bound. We laughed together, _loudly. _

"Oh, my gods, we have issues," Astrid said whilst wiping a tear from her cheek.

"And I'm damn proud of it!" I screamed. I got up and slid the back door open, looking out over the aviaries and the CBD, way off in the distance.

"YOU HEAR ME, BERK?! I HAVE ISSUES, AND I'M FUCKING PROUD! WHOOOOOOOOO!" I yelled, flipping off the empty space. Down the hill I heard Cloudjumper hoot in response. Back inside, Astrid was laughing even harder than I was, while I was leaning on my knees, giggling at what I just did.

"Hiccup, you better come inside before something happens!" I heard her say.

I spun around and walked back in, straddling the piano stool again.

"Ah, I'm screwed up," I sighed.

"No question about it." I poked my tongue out at her, which she mirrored almost instantly.

"Astrid? Thank you for being here. It's so good you're back in my life."

"I never left, Hiccup," she smiled. My body suddenly lifted and filled up with warmth, like hot helium, so to speak. I smiled right back at her. Right then and there, any bad thoughts and feelings inside me were long gone. My lifelong secret love, the only thing that could cure me of my badness. I looked back over at the piano. Then, a crazy idea popped into my head, and my body buzzed with excitement.

"Astrid, I just thought of something," I said with a determined look.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"We sounded amazing together, and I've got a lot of money saved up for nothing in particular...do you wanna do something about these songs?" Her eyes brightened.

"You mean, like, write and record?" YES! She gets it.

"Yeah! Mum said music would be very therapeutic for me, and you practically nagged me to start playing again -Don't hit me!- and I feel fantastic. But I wanna feel things and express things greater than fantastic, and I think the only way I can do that is with you."

"Hiccup, we may be childhood friends, but right now, I'm refusing your requests for sex," she quipped. My face turned red at the mention of that word, and my dream came back into my mind. Alarm bells rang way off in the distance but surprisingly, they were immediately shut off.

"Classic Astrid, never gets old," I responded dryly. She giggled. "Seriously though, I wanna write and record music, and I think this is the one thing I've come across that I want to commit to. So, if you'll have me, I want you to be a part of this. And let's face it, without you I probably wouldn't know the first thing about setting up equipment and putting together a studio." She clicked her tongue and nodded slowly.

"Very true, very true," she said. "Gobber taught me a thing or two about how acoustics work and how to run mics through mixing boards and I've had a little fun recording my voice on GarageBand, _AND _I work in a music shop, so we'd be able to get a lot of the good gear on the cheap, so yeah, you'd pretty much be helpless without me."

"Goodness, you're right! I'd be up the creek without a paddle!" I cried in mock shock. Then I held out a hand. "So...is that a yes?" She pretended to think about it, screwing up her face and stroking an imaginary beard, like my dad whenever he was deep in thought. She then outstretched her smooth, slender hand and shook mine.

"Henry Haddock, it'd be my pleasure."

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**No singing in this one, just more character development. I've surprised myself in how cute their relationship has become so quickly. Things might be getting more serious later on, not sure. REVIEW AND FOLLOW!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi everyone, hope you all had a great Snoggletog and Boxing Day. So, things are starting to pick up, I think! Thank you all for your support and SUPPORT AUSTRALIAN MUSIC!**

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"So, you're thinking up here?" Astrid asked. We were up in the rec room, surveying the space for our ideal studio.

"Yeah, I think so," I said. "This room's bigger than the others and I'm pretty much the only one who uses it. Plus there's already a Mac in here, so..."

"Oh good! That's one job out of the way," Astrid said excitedly as she nicked me on the arm. "Oh, but what do you wanna do about your stuff?" she asked, pointing to the TV and console.

"Oh they can go in my room, no worries," I assured her. "So...acoustic wise, what were you thinking?"

"Well, I've noticed the ceiling is on a slant, probably joined on to the roof. That might help a bit with projection. Were you thinkin' of using acoustic or electric drums?"

"You know, that didn't actually cross my mind, but I like the sound of playing acoustic drums...if I can play them, that is."

"Yeah, me too. Although we'll probably be drawn to the electronics it'd be good to have something a little more organic, know what I mean?"

Yeah," I smiled. "So...how exactly does the foam and everything work, Astrid?"

"Well, basically, foam in a studio environment is used to absorb and eliminate any unwanted echo or residual sounds being made in a studio space, thus improving the sound quality of our vocals and instruments. Plus, it also stops any unwanted noise from coming in, or getting out."

"Cool!" I said, highly intrigued. "And what, do we just put foam everywhere?" She shook her head and smiled.

"No, Hiccup. We've gotta find places on the walls that might be hit the most by the sounds. That, and foam can be very expensive, so we need to be really articulate and smart about this. The corners are a must for foaming up. I'm thinking we put a few bass-traps in all the corners up top, so the lower end doesn't go too overboard...and a few simple blocks at the back wall here..." she pointed to several spots on the wall opposite the apex of the slant in the ceiling. Then she worked her way around the rest of the room, mapping out where the rest of the foam might go.

"Yeah, I think that oughta do it," Astrid said confidently. "Oh, but Hiccup, were you wanting to use the piano downstairs at all?"

Oh, gods! I forgot about that. That'd be tough. We can't wheel the heavy thing up the steps but recording on it downstairs wouldn't be any easy feat either, as the birds outside might muck the sound up.

"I thought about it...but Cloudjumper...don't worry, we'll work something out," I said.

"Yeah. Okay, that's acoustics sorted. What were you thinking for instruments?"

"Well, we're pretty much agreed on drums, maybe just a little bop kit or something...might look into getting...what are they called, triggers? I know you have a guitar...so we'd need a bass, and I've really got my eyes on that equipment I was playing today."

"Well you're in luck, they're still in the shop," Astrid informed happily. Yes! "Although a few more keyboards might come in handy too...and we need a mixing board and some speakers. We can hook them up to the Mac...I think we've got this sorted!"

"Great!" We high-fived. I then heard a car engine approach the house. That would be Dad. "Hey, come on," I beckoned to Astrid. I lead her out the door and onto the landing, overlooking the front entry, which opened on cue with my dad in the frame, his enormous red beard adorned with flecks of gray overlapping his business suit. My dad was the head of a timber company ever since he was in his late twenties, and the zoo used dad's timber company as a resource to build some of their enclosures. That's also how my parents met. Behind Dad followed none other than the man himself, Gordon "Gobber" Belch. My eyes lit up as I saw the old family friend and I hurried down the stairs to greet him.

"Gobber!" I greeted cheerfully. "Great to see you. Hey Dad." Dad nodded me a silent greeting and went into the living room for his traditional lie down. Gobber looked at me in surprise and clapped me on the shoulder.

"Aye, likewise, Hiccup! Look at you, all grown up, eh?" He then looked up and saw Astrid making her way down the steps.

"Oh, Astrid!" Gobber said, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, you know, catching up on two years with this guy," Astrid said, nudging me with her elbow.

"Oh, of course. Well I'm glad you're actually here," he said, suddenly turning grim. "There's something I need to talk to you about, but later. I've been invited for dinner and I think it'd kill the mood prematurely if I broke it to you now or during."

"During?" Astrid asked, confused.

"Oh, Val phoned ahead and invited me for dinner and said that you were welcome too." My heart lept. "I didn't believe you were here at first considering...never mind. This is great! All of us seeing each other again."

Soon afterwards Mum returned home from her run, and after kissing Dad and giving Gobber a hug, we all went into the kitchen to prepare dinner. Fish kebabs and steamed vegetables. I'd (and probably everyone who's crossed paths with my mother) hate to admit it, but Valka Haddock can NOT cook on her own, so we all offer to volunteer to help out when she announces she's making something like her infamous meatballs, or the kebabs. I really like the kitchen. Its one of the few places in the world where you can truly spend quality time with somebody and talk about anything, as well as work together to make something. Astrid and I had the job of filleting and slicing the fish Mum likes to catch from the river below our property. It was messy work, but we had fun.

"How long has it been since we last went fishing?" I asked her as I pin-boned a fillet of trout.

"I dunno," Astrid pondered. "Although I remember you once caught a lot of salmon, and Toothless slept for days when you brought some home for him to eat." Poor guy. He loves fish too much. I've caught him a couple of times down at the river trying to swipe at the fish that lurked beneath the surface. Fool. He doesn't know any better.

"Oh yeah, I remember that day. Good times."

"Indeed," Astrid sighed. That was the last trout fillet done, and I reached across for the Chef's knife, but Astrid had the same idea as me, and her being closer, wrapped her fingers around the hilt first and before I could react, my fingers landed on hers. I gasped quietly, looking at Astrid, her expression similar to mine but her hand unmoving. But after a few seconds, we laughed nervously and I slowly moved my hand away, silently gesturing for her to use the knife first. As if, right on cue, the previously unseen Toothless, now seated on a bar-stool opposite the kitchen island I was working on, mewed at me and had such a cheeky glint in his eyes, with his pupils fully rounded, showing mock innocence.

"What are you looking at?" I sneered, and I threw him a tiny piece of fish so he kept his silence. He immediately hopped up and caught it in mid air. I laughed and batted at my hands, shooing him away. He pestered off to play on his scratching post.

Once dinner was sorted, we all sat around the table, eating the (thank gods!) delicious meal and reminiscing past times with all of us -Gobber telling us stories of Scotland with Dad, Mum remembering Astrid growing up, and the bird program.

"Oh, Stoick," Mum said suddenly. "I've been given a case of Macaws that were injured. I expect they'll be here within a few weeks. I'll need more timber for another enclosure. I've been filling up so much on patients I'm running out of room."

"For you, my dear, anything," Dad nodded, understanding her concern for the creatures.

"Macaws?" Astrid asked, suddenly intrigued. "What happened to them, Valka?"

"Poor things flew into an old trap down south. They're gonna need a _lot _of help." Wow, I thought. Crazy stuff.

"That's terrible! I hope they're okay."

"Me too, Astrid." Mum prayed. We carried on eating and I nudged Astrid.

"Hey, I didn't know you liked parrots!" I whispered.

"Favourite animal, Hiccup. And you're not the only reason I came around here all the time when we were younger," she teased. I mocked a sad face and we both giggled. Once dinner was finished, we got the dishes done and we all settled in the living room, Astrid and I sitting together, Toothless dividing his dozing body between our two laps. Then after a while Mum and Dad went outside to watch the sunset and check on the birds one more time, and Gobber came over to us, sitting on an ottoman.

"Astrid, now might be a good time to talk about what I wanted to see you about." He said. I gently picked Toothless up and cradled him in my arms like a baby.

"Do you want me to leave, or..?" I asked, beginning to stand.

"Nah, its okay, lad. You can sit if you like." I sat back down. "Now, Astrid, I've gotten a bit of bad news today and you're not gonna like it." Astrid and I looked at each other, concern in both our eyes.

"What is it, Gobber?" He took a deep breath and Astrid looked a little frightened. Nerves aside, I put my hand on hers for support. Her fingers wrapped around my palm quickly.

"The shop's gone into receivership. We're losing our jobs."

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**Have a happy new years, guys!**

**-Ollie**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey everyone. From here on out the updates are going to be random. THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN UPDATED* Love you guys and enjoy. SUPPORT AUSTRALIAN MUSIC**

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"What does that mean?!" I interrupted.

"It means that we've lost too much customers to keep running the shop. If we can't get enough people to buy our products, we lose the financial stability and I can't renew the rent to keep it going. That and I won't be able to pay as much as I normally do." Gobber sighed. I then understood what he meant. When I first went into the shop, it was virtually empty. No one was there to ogle or buy the beautiful instruments, save for me.

"Gods above, I'm so sorry to hear this guys," I said. I looked at Astrid, and she looked...frightened.

"No...I can't lose this! I won't lose this! Gobber, can't you do something?!" she practically screamed. This Astrid Hofferson, I had never seen, or felt. Our hands were still tightly bound, although mine was shaking, hers were trembling just as hard, to my surprise, and I began to feel sick. Any positivity I had earlier had faded.

"Astrid...it's gonna be okay," I struggled, fighting the fear filling in my chest. I was getting nervous about this new Astrid, but if she was strength for me, it seemed only fair for me to return the favour. Hel, it felt like second nature.

"No, it won't Hiccup!" she exploded, letting go of me. "I can't lose this! This job is the only thing keeping me afloat and him away!" And with that, she promptly stood up and went upstairs, leaving Gobber, Toothless and I in a slack-jawed silence that was briefly interrupted by a door closing. Afloat? Him? Where was all this coming from? Gobber looked down and noticed my shaking hands.

"Breathe nice and easy, Hiccup. I'm right here." Gobber said soothingly, putting a hand on my shoulder. I kicked off of my routine, and combined with Toothless resting his paws on my shoulder and knowingly nuzzling my face, purring reverberating in my skin, the pain was slowly being counteracted. Once I'd calmed down, I grabbed Toothless and held him close to me.

"Gobber, I've never seen Astrid like that before!" I gasped. "Has she always been like this?"

"Not my place to say, Hiccup," Gobber said firmly. "All I can tell you is go and speak to Astrid, be a friend, and help her out if this happens again."

"You're being very mysterious...what's going on?"

"Can't tell you, Hiccup. Only Astrid can, if she wants to." I was very confused.

"...Is there nothing we can do to save the shop?" I asked, changing the subject.

"The only way I can do that is to buy it back. But the only way I can get the money to do that is to sell everything in the shop on the cheap, and that still won't be enough." Wait. I've got it.

"Gobber. I've thought of something that could help out." The two limbed man raised his eyes and fixed his attention on me.

"I'm all ears, lad," he said tiredly.

"Astrid and I are planning on setting up a home studio and recording a CD. I know it might not seem like much, but I'll be more than happy to purchase the equipment we need from the Forge and I'll pay full price."

"You're a good lad, Hiccup but you don't need to-"

"Gobber!" I cut him off. "I want to. You and Astrid are my oldest friends and I want to repay you and her for being in my lives. You're practically family and I'm helping you, whether you like it or not." I put my foot down. Gobber was silent for a while and had a good think about my proposition.

"Okay, but on one condition." I winced at what I might have to do.

"Yeah?"

"You let me master the tracks when you're done." he smiled.

"Don't see anything wrong with that!" I shrugged and chuckled. "Um, is there a deadline to meet for the rent or whatever?"

"We have three or so months. Thanks for your help, Hiccup. I don't want to lose the shop as much as Astrid does. That cavern of Casios and acoustics is my baby. No way am I losing it." I nodded.

"And I don't want to see it shut down. Lots of good stuff in there that can go a long way."

"Aye." We smiled knowingly at each other, and Gobber reached over to fondle Toothless' head.

"Well, I think I'll head home. I'm gonna say bye to Stoick and Val. Good to see you laddie." Gobber stretched and walked over to the back door, fingers dragging along the piano as he hobbled to the door, leaving music reverberating up the high ceiling room.

"You too, Gobber!" I called out. I looked upstairs, wondering how Astrid was. Toothless still in my arms, I ascended the staircase and heard movement come from the rec room. I rapped on the door softly.

"Astrid?" I called out. "You okay?"

"Yeah...come in." I slowly opened the door and as soon as I entered, Toothless leaped out of my arms and ran over to a slightly shaky Astrid, who was sitting on the lonely couch at the back wall, the room only illuminated by the standing lamp next to Astrid. Her eyes were stained with tears and she hurriedly wiped them away as Toothless climbed onto her lap and started nuzzling her affectionately. Best thing about that damn cat was he knew when you were upset, and wouldn't stop giving you love until you were happier. I followed suit and cautiously sat next to her.

"You alright?" I asked.

"I'm better," she said, looking at me with a stern smile. "Thanks Toothless," she said, running nervous fingers down the cat's back, which resulted in even more purring.

"I uh...I've never seen that before." I murmured.

"Oh, that. I...that was just me overreacting. My first job, and you'd expect to panic when you're told you're gonna lose it, right?" she said quickly, avoiding my gaze.

"...But there's more to it than that, isn't there?" I asked soberly. She looked up at me again and sighed deeply.

"Yeah," she nodded slowly. Toothless hopped off her lap and slunk across to the ajar door, but before leaving he looked at me. His eyes seemed to say _You've got this, my brother._

_Thanks bud, _my eyes replied. When he left I returned my focus to Astrid.

"Hiccup, I've been trying to keep this from you and your family for so long, because I didn't want you guys to worry."

"Keep what?" she now had my full attention.

"I...I don't know how to say this, but...I can't, I'm too scared-" she was cut off when my hands cupped her face delicately.

"Don't be afraid, Astrid," I whispered as I softened my eyes with concern and security. She looked into mine and she stopped quivering. "It's only me here. And I know that you're a Hel of a lot braver than I am. You can do this. And sometimes it helps to talk about these things. I promise I am not here to judge. I am here to listen and help in any way that I can, and always will be...because I l-" No! Not now! You idiot...I mentally kicked myself before I felt Astrid cock her head slightly.

"You what?" I noticed the corner of her mouth turn up in the barest trace of a smile. Fuck. She has an idea. I slowly pulled my hands away and sighed.

"...I care about you so much," I murmured. "Anyway, this is about me helping you." Astrid then nodded, took a deep breath and what I heard, shocked me to my core.

"Around two years ago...it was when you started to drift away, actually, I got my report card on the last day of ninth grade and...it wasn't good, even though I'd put so much time and effort into my work. From day 1, my father liked perfection, and always hated it every time I said something out of line, or...made a mistake when I was doing my chores, or when Mum was just a little clumsy...I was terrified of what I might come home to. When I did get home, he dropped his forty as soon as he saw my report card...and...he..." Astrid buried her face in my neck and started crying. Wet chest the least of my worries, I wrapped her up tightly and slowly rocked her. Then I started crying because she was crying.

"What happened?" I choked.

"...he hurt me."

I froze, horrified at this revelation. Then I started crying even more. My Astrid, treated like a fucking ragdoll? Holy shit...

"...Is he...is he still with you?" I shuddered at the thought.

"No, thank gods," Astrid choked. "As soon as Mum and I recovered from...what happened to us, although I don't think I ever _will_ recover from it...every time I think about what happened I stress _so much._" Oh, my gods. She knew what I've been going through, and I mean _really _knew.

"We got our things, took my baby brother and got far, far away from him. I've been subsidizing my mother's income by working at the Forge and we've been doing okay for a while...but if I can't keep bringing money in, he'll find us and destroy us again, and that's so fucking sad for me, because...I feel its my responsibility to provide for my family. I did this. And if I can't keep my family safe...I'm a failure."

"You're _not _a failure Astrid and this was _not _your fault," I said as more hot tears poured down my cheeks. "If anything you are the complete opposite. You're a hero. You save me from my pain whenever it creeps on me and to take on such a responsibility to help your family...does that even sound remotely like failure?" She slowly lifted her head from my neck and looked at me.

"No?"

"_No." _I said firmly, bracing her upper arms with my hands. "You are the bravest, kindest, most considerate person on this planet, and not a single thing is gonna bring you down, do you hear me?" I said, on the verge of hysteria. It took a second, but she properly smiled and hugged me again, contesting my tight embrace.

"Thank you, Hiccup," she whispered. "That means a lot to me. _You_ mean a lot to me."

"Ditto, Astrid." I whispered back. She slowly pulled away, but not before pausing inches from my face. We both looked at each other, not moving. My eyes glanced down at her lips, and before I knew what was happening I slowly leaned forward, not knowing what I was doing. Astrid looked just as confused as I did but she was leaning forward too. Was I dreaming? Is this real? What _is _real? I slowly tilted my head and just hesitated for a brief moment, both of us breathing in each other's breaths.

"Astrid, what are we doing?" I barely whispered. She brushed the tips of her fingers across my cheek ever so softly and I shuddered at her excruciatingly beautiful touch.

"...I don't know..."

And then we kissed. Just once. A whole childhood of wanting to kiss my oldest friend lead to here. A million emotions were going through my mind. Joy, confusion, love, sadness...I was so elated at what was happening, but at the same time...I felt weird for kissing her in that situation, and sad at the fact that this might not happen again...I don't know. We both weren't thinking in that moment. We withdrew slowly and just looked at each other. After what seemed like an eternity, one of us finally spoke.

"Can I...can I stay in here tonight?" Was she seriously asking this? This was her second home for so many years.

"Of course." I whispered, nodding. She shuffled her body so her legs extended to the other end of the couch. Still holding on to me, she slowly put her weight down on the cushions, pulling me down with her. I resisted slightly.

"Will you stay with me?" she pleaded. I relaxed a little more.

"Sure." I let my body go limp and lay down next to her, my spine pushing up against the back of the couch. I enveloped her again and we were lying down, our foreheads touching.

"Are you cold?" I asked. Her forehead bumped mine a little.

"A bit." I took my arm around her right side and I reached behind me, pulling down a throw rug that was draped over the back of the couch and nestled us underneath.

"Better?"

"Yeah." I smiled lovingly at her.

"'Kay." I reached for the switch on the lamp and the light in the room disappeared. I cuddled closer to Astrid and she held me tighter.

"'Night, Astrid."

"Good night." Hours later, I woke up and thought about what I really wanted to say while watching Astrid peacefully sleep.

_Will you stay with me?_

_**Always.**_

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**Hope the update is more satisfying.**

**-Ollie**


	9. Chapter 9

**So...that happened, haha. I wasn't expecting it to happen so soon. I've started listening to the Soundtrack of the film "Her", an excellent movie and actually my favourite, to help me write. Thanks to you guys who are reviewing, especially to jaytiege. Dude, your words really got me good. Here's the next chapter. Please review dudes and SUPPORT AUSTRALIAN MUSIC. LISTEN OUT FOR TRIPLE J'S HOTTEST 100 ON JANUARY 26TH IF YOU'RE NEAR THE AUSTRALIAN TIMEZONE. MY AMERICAN READERS, 25TH JANUARY.**

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Hours later, the sun invaded the rec room and overpowered my eyelids' powers of filtering light, and I subconsiously pulled the blanket over my face to welcome back the dark and bring on more sleep. Shifting slightly to get more comfortable, I opened my eyes slightly to assess my position, and took in a most beautiful sight to behold: Astrid Hofferson, still deep in slumber, dreaming of the good things, evident by the slight smile on her face. I noticed a few loose strands of her golden hair fell around her eyes. Quietly smirking, I reached up to her beautiful hair and tucked them behind her right ear. My fingers remained on her face, feeling her once untouchable beauty. This moment was so perfect. Silence, safety, comfort and uninterrupted viewing of the testament to the eternal majesty of the gods' creation. But could this moment ever live on and survive to make another appearance, in some other situation? Would what happened last night continue to mean something deeper than what it seemed? Would we kiss again? Would we fall in love together? Would we experience that kind of connection that people say is one of the most exciting parts of life? Would my dreams become reality? Would I be finally cured of my condition? Would we promise to hold and cure each other whenever we get bad again? ...All I could do was wait and see what would come, and try to make this moment last, where not time or space could pull us apart, as I held on tightly to the one thing that made me better, and prayed that I didn't let her go.

My eyes shot open and darted about, then settled on Astrid when I realised I just dozed off for an hour or two and was still here, safe and warm in her embrace, in fact a little too warm. The heat of the sun made the atmosphere of the room sticky and stuffy beyond bearability, so I took one arm from Astrid and with as little movement as possible, took the blanket off of us and pushed it down onto the floor, allowing sweet relief to wash over us, but not enough to stay cool. I noticed how strongly my shirt was clinging to my chest, and felt I needed to take off the yucky stuff. Looking around, I spotted my black v-neck, folded up on the edge of my desk. I wanted to go over there and grab it, but the idea of disturbing Astrid seemed like a sin so taboo it was worthy of the Blood Eagle, a method of execution our ancestors used that has since been long outdated. Henry would you relax? She's deep enough that nothing will ever hurt her or bring her out of her place. Bearing that in mind, I gingerly unwound myself from Astrid's arms and shuffled my butt to the other end of the couch, pushed my legs over the arm and stood up on the carpet. I tip-toed over to the desk and ran my fingers through the dark cotton, faintly smelling of fabric softener. Mum must've washed this and found us in here...hope she didn't get any funny ideas. I looked behind me to make sure Astrid was still facing the couch, which she was. Phew. I peeled off my dragon scale print button-up and draped it over the desk chair, next to one of my bath towels that I left in here to dry at some stage. I picked it up and ran it across my face and torso, collecting the beads of moisture on my body and slightly toning down the smell of tacos...why was it the smell of tacos that went with my sweat? It's a really weird thing I don't think I, or any male guy my age will understand. One of the mysteries of growing up. Just one more year of puberty to go, then I'll be free, I thought dryly.

"Good morning," I heard someone yawn. Shit! I spun around quickly, covering up my skin with the bunched up towel sloppily cradled in my arms. Astrid was sitting up and rubbing her eyes. Soon as the morning glare cleared her vision, she started to just look at me.

"Hiccup, why do you have your shirt off?" she inquired. Then her eyebrows knitted together. "Oh, my gods, we didnt-"

"Oh, no no no!" I nearly screamed, hands fluttering about the place. Unfortunately the towel dropped to the floor and she saw more of me. Feeling weird, I crossed my arms and brought my shoulders up, trying to appear a bit more modest. "I just got a little sweaty and wanted to change my shirt...and I'm sorry I'm being like..._this,_ I'm just a little self-conscious about my body," I admitted.

"Why?" She asked incredulously. "It's only me in here, not the jocks in the locker-room. And you shouldn't need to feel that way about yourself, Hiccup. It's your body. Nobody can change or force you to change it. It's your identity, and part of what makes you you. And if I'll be totally honest, I like what I see." Wait, what? Did she actually say that?

"Astrid, are you...checking me out?" I asked, my hands now on my hips. Moving my arms must've done something, because I noticed her eyes immediately darted away and her cheeks turned red. She was!

"What? Um...no?" She responded nervously.

"You were, weren't you?" I asked, feeling a cheeky grin form on my face. Oh, yeah, this'll work. She gives in to secrets when I do this.

"Oh, no Hiccup, come on, not that!" Yes! It was still working. Well played, Haddock. Well played.

"You we-ere," I sing songed. After a brief back and forth, she finally relented.

"Urgh, okay you got me!" she said, throwing her hands up in mock surrender. I just laughed and walked across the room to open a window.

"Ah, that's much better," I sighed. A breeze coming in from the north made a little bypass into the room and flushed out the heat. I then went back to the desk, slid into my v-neck and applied some roll on deodorant I found next to the computer.

"Can't have you looking at me ALL day, can we?" I teased. Astrid laughed.

"No we cannot." I then approached the couch and sat next to her.

Um, Astrid?" I asked in a small voice.

"Yeah?"

"I'm really sorry about what happened last night. I didn't mean for it to happen..."

"No, Hiccup, it's okay, it's okay. We were both emotional and looking for comfort."

"Yeah...but...d-did you like it?" I asked. She regarded me seriously, and took my hands.

"If I'll be honest with you...it felt really nice. You were very gentle and I felt better, even more so when you stayed with me...how was it for you?"

"Essentially the same. I thought it was sweet for my first kiss, even more so that it was with you. But afterwards, I had a mixed bag of emotions, really. I was excited that the moment was happening but at the same time, I felt really guilty for kissing you in a situation where some people would try to take advantage of a girl...phew, I'm gonna...I'm gonna tell you some things that I've been keeping from you, too."

"Oh, okay," Astrid said, surprised. I held her hands tighter and let it out.

"I've had a crush on you for as long as I can remember, Astrid, and I'm so grateful that my first kiss was with you. And over the years my feelings for you have gotten deeper and I think I...I'll stop there. I just wanted to know...did you feel something last night?" She just looked at me with wide eyes, and then gasped with a soft smile.

"Yeah, I did," she said quietly, letting go of my hand and running her fingers along her mouth. "I think, in the back of my mind I always had a crush on you, but I tried to push it out because we were just friends. But after you and I started talking again...and after what happened last night...I think I can finally accept it."

I didn't know what to say to that, even though my insides groaned with relief and instantly settled, so I just said "Cool." She nodded and we both stared straight ahead. Then she looked at me.

"So...are we a thing, Hiccup?" she asked.

"I don't know...we don't have to be." I said honestly. "Whatever happens, I still want us to be friends, because I've never felt more better."

"Yeah, I've noticed. And I'm glad you feel good, Hiccup." She then took a moment to ponder something. "I guess we could...play it by ear? See what happens? And if it doesn't work out no one gets hurt." That sounded alright.

"Um...yeah, I guess we could try that." I answered, smiling. Astrid laughed in relief.

"Great!' she said. So we weren't a thing...but we had a thing, and this was more than great for me. She suddenly stood up and held out her hand.

"Come on."

"Where are we going?" I asked as I took her hand. She said nothing and lead me out the door, quickly stopping to put our shoes on, and we ended up in the front yard, and I saw Astrid get into her blue Toyota sedan.

"We're going shopping for music." She called out.

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**So, they're...something! Yay! Haha please review**


	10. Chapter 10

**For those of you who had no clue what I was talking about when I was saying HOTTEST 100, its an annual music poll conducted by Australian radio network Triple J, and people all over the world (2 million for this year) vote for music of the past year to make it into the countdown, and guess who made the number 1 spot? That's right! CHET FAKER FOR TALK IS CHEAP! WEW! Haha enough of my fangirling and lets get down to some storytelling. Nearly at 100 follows! I'm so pumped thank you all for your support. Please keep the reviews coming.**

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"So, you think there'll be enough between us to get started?" Astrid asked as she drove us out the gate.

"Oh, yeah, absolutely. Whatever money my Mum's given me for my odd jobs of helping her out with the birds over the past couple years has rarely been spent on. This kinda feels weird that we're doing this, Astrid."

"How so?"

"Well...I dunno, it's just...I think the other people at school who are aware of my existence, have these expectations of me to splurge all my money as soon as a single cent appears in my account, but that was never me. I never did nor do take my family's wealth for granted, and I value working up to something to earn it."

"I'm glad to hear you say that, Hiccup. There aren't that many people in the world who associate their money with wanting more of it for creature comforts."

"Yeah...huh, just before I was about to say that, I felt weird for splurging all my cash on some expensive, high quality stuff, but now that we're talking about it in that perspective of saving up and not taking our money for granted, I actually feel kinda good about this now." I smiled.

"You should! You're making a positive investment in something that you're good at and will last a long time." Astrid assured me.

"Yeah...I'm excited! Are you excited?"

"Hel yeah!" We high-fived each other, then our fingers involuntarily locked into place. I looked at Astrid, and she quickly glanced at me with a smile, but looked back at the road so she could keep driving. I angled my head slightly and saw a blush creep up on her face. I laughed quietly before I felt my cheeks heat up. Neither of us made a move to let go. Things were moving slowly for us, but that's what we needed in that moment, and it still felt like last night.

The drive went by in silence, but it was the comfortable silence. We were both happy to the point where we didn't need to talk. We were just present in each other's company. After about twenty minutes, we pulled up to the store front of the Forge. Gobber had put up signs in the window saying EVERYTHING MUST GO! UP TO 70% ON ALL SELECTED STOCK.

"Oh, no," I murmured. "That's gonna bring down the prices in the shop a lot." I looked at Astrid, and she nodded at me in agreement, but something was off about her. I looked down and saw her knees twitching. It's a sign! I took my other hand and sandwiched Astrid's between mine, trying my best to rub her hand soothingly.

"It'll be okay, Astrid. We're gonna be buying a lot of stuff anyway, so we'll still be helping out to save the shop and your job, yeah?" I said quietly. She let out a breath she was holding and looked at me.

"...Okay."

"Okay?" I smiled reassuringly. We got out of the car and as soon as Astrid made it around to me she took my hand again. I gladly accepted the gesture and held her tight. We entered the shop and not a lot had changed since yesterday. Walking down the hallway, we noticed Gobber going over some archiving, but our ears then picked up something new. In the room next to all the keyboards and the pianos, came a noise that was frantic, loud and impressive. We got to the desk and Gobber acknowledged us with a nod.

"Gobber, what is that?!" I nearly yell. Astrid and I let go of each other's hands so we could block our ears.

"Lad with a funny voice about your age just took to one of the drum kits," he explained casually. "He's been playing in there for a while. Haven't asked him to stop because he is actually decent and shows respect for those drums...Although he is getting a bit loud. Could you tell him to tone it down a bit?"

"Sure!" Astrid yelled. I nodded and followed Astrid into the drums and percussion room. I got a better look at it than the last time I was in there breathing. On the left there were around a hundred cymbals of different sizes, shapes and finishes, some being very shiny and others looking very matted and dirty. On the floor there were several different kits taking up the space, one of them a sparkly purple drum kit that had _Pearl _printed on the front of the bass drum. Surrounding it were cymbals that said SABIAN. They were being bashed with such energy, creativity and passion by a guy who did look around our age. He had short blonde hair messed up with a little gel, intense blue eyes darting around the drum set and was wearing a blue denim button up shirt with tiny dark blue and white stars printed all over, navy jeans and brown leather boots. His arms were flinging about the place and it looked like his stamina was endless. Astrid and I looked at each other, our eyes saying WOW! He snapped out of his trance when he saw us watching with intent.

"Oh, sorry, sorry," he said, choking* the cymbals silent and putting the sticks in a nearby bucket, full to the brim that said (TESTING STICKS). "Guy at the desk wasn't complaining so I figured...sorry if I was too loud." Gobber was right. There _was_ something funny about his accent. Suddenly, Astrid took a step forward.

"You uh...you look familiar, have we met before?" She asked. He looked at her and his eyebrows knitted together.

"Maybe...you look familiar too...um, have you been to Melbourne in the past year or so?" he asked. Melbourne? OH, he must be Australian. That explains the voice, I thought.

"Yeah, actually! How did you guess?"

"I remember sitting next to an American girl called Astrid who was with her mother and little brother at a Chet Faker concert." Then I saw her eyes widen.

"...Oh, my gods! I remember you! You're um...Wall...no, William! William! Yes! I remember you!" she cried.

"Wait, you're Astrid? Wow! What are the odds?! I swear to the gods, this is amazing!" he stepped around the drum kit and shook her hand.

"Wow, I can't believe...it's a small world, hey?" she said.

"Yeah, indeed! Who's this?" William asked, gesturing to me. "Is he your partner, or...?"

"Oh, no, she's not my partner," I said, arms wailing about the place again. "We're um...we're just starting out, aren't we?" I asked Astrid.

"Yeah, that's about right," she smiled softly. "Although he _is _my partner-in-crime." he laughed at that. Seems like a nice guy, I thought.

"Ah, good for you guys," he said sincerely. He then held out a hand. "Nice to meet you mate, I'm William, but please call me Will."

"Henry, but please call me Hiccup." I said as I returned the handshake.

"Hiccup?" he asked. "Unusual nickname...I love it!" he said. We all chuckled.

"So, what are you doing in Berk, Will?" Astrid asked.

"Oh, my parents got a twelve month work placement up here-just moved here, actually-and we're gonna be living here until June next year, I think."

"Oh, cool!" I said. "Where are your parents working?"

"They're zoologists, so the zoo just down the way from the city, I'm pretty sure." Wait, what?

"Really? My Mum works at the zoo too!" I cried. "She works with the birds."

"Oh yeah, my Mum mentioned a bird show. She said it was really cool to watch. I wanna see it sometime."

"Well, hey, if your parents and my mother work at the zoo, we can get you a closer look at the birds if you're interested-you too Astrid! I know you love parrots."

Yeah, that is true," she chuckled. "Will, that was incredible! You never told me you were a drummer."

"Oh, didn't I? I've been drumming nearly all my life. I had a band back home actually, but I had to quit and sell my drum kit so I could have some money for when I came here. Didn't want to let her go...she was exactly like the kit I was playing just now." He pointed to the set behind him. "Worth a lot of money too." He held up the price tag that read:

**"PEARL REFERENCE MAPLE SERIES SHELL PACK - PURPLE CRAZE II FINISH"**  
**$3500 - DOWN TO $2100  
**

"Whoa!" Astrid and I said together.

"And that's only for the drum shells," he added. "I'd have to buy all the hardware and cymbals for it separately, and that'll be even more money." He sighed. "Hope I can still play drums while I'm still here..." Poor guy. I looked over at Astrid. She had her arms crossed and was deep in thought, regarding Will intensely.

"Get back on the kit, Will."

"What?" he asked.

"No questions, just get back on the kit."

"Um, okay." He awkwardly stepped between drum sets and settled back on his original drum stool.

"Okay, play a rock beat." She demanded. He looked confused but nodded. He started to play. He had a solid rhythm and his bass drum was well accented.

"Nice...now swing!" his hand switched positions and began playing on a huge cymbal to his right, ever so lightly and you could barely hear the bass drum.

Good, good...now double time swing!" He kept playing the same groove but doubled his speed.

"Faster." He obliged. "Faster!" He got faster. "FASTER!" Astrid yelled, a huge smile on her face. He was going at such a ridiculous pace, but every cymbal stroke he made was perfect.

"Now Double kick drum fills!" What was she saying? I then looked down and noticed his left foot had immediately moved from the hi-hat pedal to another one next to it, that was attached to a rod that extended around to the bass drum. Then, the kick's thump suddenly multiplied, and his feet were moving just as fast as his arms, but everything sounded so in sync! The tom toms and bass drum together sounded like machine guns that were firing endless rounds into the tall room. After about thirty seconds, he finally stopped. Sweat dripped from his brow and he was panting heavily.

"Why did...why did you ask me to do that?" he huffed. Astrid just looked at me, smiled and nicked my arm.

"I think we found ourselves a drummer."

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**OC Introduction! Haha not sure if it's a thing authors do in their stories, but Will is meant to be based on me. Anyways, hope you enjoyed this one! Please review.**

*** = Choking a cymbal means to pinch or grab it after it's been hit to immediately stop the noise. Good for accenting in your music.**


	11. Chapter 11

**SOOOOOO CLOSE TO 100 FOLLOWERS! Thank you guys so much.**

**SONGS RETURN!**

**KEY:**

**BOLD = HICCUP**

_Italic = Astrid_

Underline = Will

**Bold/Underline = Hiccup and Will**

You get the idea.

Lyrics are property of Andre Young, Chauncey Hannibal, Teddy Riley, William Stewart, Lynise Walters, Richard Vick and Bill Withers. Song is Chet Faker's cover.

** Keep reviewing and SUPPORT AUSTRALIAN MUSIC!**

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"Wait, what?" I heard Will puff. Yep. We need him.

"Sorry, rephrase," I began. "Will, this is gonna sound crazy because we...well, barely know you, but after what we just saw, we...yeah, both of us?" I asked Astrid. She nodded eagerly.

"We want to talk to you about the idea of joining in a project we're working on." I finished. His eyes widened and switched his glances between Astrid and I.

"Really? You want _me?"_ We nodded enthusiastically. "Are you sure? Like you said, we barely know each other, and I don't even have a kit..." he trailed off.

"Do you have a job, Will?" Astrid asked the aussie.

"Yeah, why?"

"Oh, good! Since you have income, we could help out with that." Astrid said, putting on her employee face.

"How? I can't buy another kit. I'm only here for a year and even if I could afford another one, it'd cost a lot to freight it back home."

"That's not what I'm thinking...have you ever heard of people renting instruments?"

"_Renting? _...Oh yeah! My music shop had a rental service for everything pretty much, but they were the only one in town who did that kind of stuff. I didn't think you guys did it too."

"Oh yeah, we've been doing it for a couple of years."

"How does it work, Astrid?" I asked.

"Well, anyone who wants some good gear but can't afford to pay full price right away, normally applies for a rental plan on the instrument, and every month a little bit of money is taken out of their account to pay it off, and after a certain amount of time, the original price of the instrument goes down and they can apply to pay for it in full for the discounted price. And the more you pay it off, the cheaper it gets to buy altogether. Say...Will wanted to rent a set of cymbals worth $1000. After six months of paying it off, the price would drop to $890, then after 8 months, $645 and so on."

"Yeah, that's exactly what my shop do," Will affirmed. "So, if I accept, you guys would be able to set me up with a rental plan?" he asked hopefully.

"Not me." I said. "She's the brains behind the operation; I just drive the dragon." The two of them laughed.

"So...will you have us, Will?" I asked, crossing my fingers. "Neither of us can play drums and we think you're incredible." He laughed in disbelief, smiled at us.

"First couple of days of living here, I've made two new friends who happen to love music like I do, and I've already been asked to join a band...how on Earth could I say no?" He laughed. I felt my stomach unknot and I walked forward to bump his outstretched fist.

"So...welcome!"

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"So, what are you guys after?" Will asked as we looked over the keys and DJ equipment, the sampling pad I "played drums" on yesterday was called "MASCHINE" on closer inspection.

"So far, I'm really keen to grab these," I said, pointing to the MASCHINE and little keyboard.

"Oh yeah, I've seen these before," tapping his fingers on the rubber pads. He switched over to a percussion patch and made a bongo beat.

"So, Will, do you play anything besides drums?" I asked.

"Well, before my dad got into animals, he was a musician and he taught me how to play bass when I was little. Then...I kinda taught myself guitar and keys, and my uncle Patrick got me into drumming. He used to take me to his soundcheck at the hotel every Saturday night and I got to hit the drums for a little bit sometimes. First song I remember playing on drums was actually Dammit by Blink 182. Haven't played it in so long...Hm. All I wanted to be was a rock-star...I hope I can make a career of this." He smiled softly. I put my arm on his shoulder.

"Hey, if you're that committed and that into it, I reckon you should go for it."

"I really want to. I just sometimes can't help but feel like I'm being held back somehow...I dunno. But I remember something someone told me last year: "Finding personal fulfillment through music is the greatest reward anyone can achieve." WOW. That was deep.

"Who said that?" I asked, blown away.

"Jay Weinberg, the rumoured drummer for Slipknot right now. I found his email, sent him a message, he replied and I was in awe of his words, and will always be."

"I think I'll have to steal that," I joked. "That is the truest thing I've heard in a while."

"Yeah...how do you feel when you play music, Hiccup?" It's hard to describe, honestly, but I managed to say something.

"Free...I feel free." He smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Me too." Then I saw his body language suddenly freeze, his gaze locked on the MASCHINE which had just been programmed with a new patch, and he looked back at me with wide eyes.

"Hey, can we try something?" he asked, excitement playing on his lips.

"Uh, yeah sure! What did you want to do?"

"Play a G minor, F major and C major in that order," he asked, gesturing to the keyboard. I complied and played the chord progression.

"Awesome, awesome...do that again, but switch it to an electric organ, almost...and play over and over again." I found an organ patch that sounded good, Astrid leaned next to me and shot me a huge smile.

"I know what he's up to." Astrid said mischievously.

"What?" I asked, not pausing. Then I looked to my left and saw Will making a beat on the MASCHINE.

"You're gonna love this, Hiccup," Astrid said. "No Diggity."

* * *

Shorty get down, good Lord  
Baby got 'em open all over town  
Strictly biz, don't play around  
Cover much ground, got game by the pound  
Getting paid is a forte  
Each and every day, two player way  
I can't get her out of my mind  
I think about the girl all the time

East side to the west side  
Pushing phat rides, it's no surprise  
She got tricks in the stash  
Stacking up cash  
Fast when it comes to the gas  
By no means average  
As long as she's got to have it  
Baby, you're a perfect ten

_(I like the way you work it_  
_No diggity, I gotta bag it up)_  
_[x4]_

She's got class and style  
Seen knowledge by the mile,  
Baby never act wild  
Very low key on the profile  
Catching villains is a no,  
Let me tell you how it goes  
Curves the words, spins the verbs  
Lovers it curves so freak what you heard

_Hey yo, hey yo, hey yo, hey yo_  
Man that girl look good  
_Hey yo, hey yo, hey yo, hey yo_  
Play on, play on  
**_Hey yo, hey yo, hey yo, hey yo_**  
She's got class and style  
**_Hey yo, hey yo, hey yo, hey yo_**  
No diggity no, no no

_**(I like the way you work it**_  
_**No diggity, I gotta bag it up)**_  
_**[x8]**_

* * *

**MORE MUSIC, FINALLY. haha please review**

**-Ollie**


	12. Chapter 12

**97 FOLLOWERS?! I AM LOST FOR WORDS. THANK YOU GUYS :)**

* * *

"What?! You sing too?" I asked. That was our first ever "jam"! That was fun!

"Mainly in the shower," Will laughed. "But I don't think I'm cut out to be a lead vocalist. I prefer harmonising or back-up or whatever."

"Don't think I'm cut out, my ass!" Astrid cursed. "You sounded good!"

"Hey, if you like doing back-up, we'll need you. The more the merrier," I offered.

"Cheers!" Will said. "Oh hey, what are our roles in this anyway...and more importantly, what genre are we?" Oh...didn't think that through.

"Well, you're playing drums," Astrid said matter-of-factly. "I know I play guitar, but, I'm really thinking of giving bass a shot. Hiccup, how would you feel playing guitar?" Me play guitar? ...my dad used to show me a few chords. I wonder if he has his old Fender lying around...

"Yeah, sure." I said, smiling and shrugging.

"Okay, that's acoustic stuff sorted," Astrid said. "Hiccup, you and I both agreed to have electronics involved?"

"Yep, that's right." I nodded. "Will, you have much experience playing hybrid drums?"

"No, but I've been to enough of Kylie Minogue's live shows to see how her drummer does it, so I'm more than happy to adapt," He smiled.

"Oh, nice!" I said. "Okay, good so far...do we all want to have some keys to play?" We looked between the three of us and we all nodded in agreement.

"Right, so our list is..." I walked over to an unoccupied desk closeby to some keyboards across from all the sheet music, found some stationery and brought it back with me to Astrid and Will.

"Okay, here's what we need to grab." I started to write on the blank piece of paper and we all crowded over our vessel to our destination.

**Bass &amp; Amp (Astrid)**

**Drums for ****rent ****(Help Will sort it out)**

**MASCHINE and KORG keys (Me)**

**Triggers? and Electric drums (Will and maybe everyone?)**

**Leads (Everyone)**

**Drum mics (Will. Maybe rent too)**

**More keys (Astrid and Will)**

**Mic...**

"Hey Astrid, you don't have a condenser mic at home, do you?" I asked over my shoulder.

"Actually, yeah I do. And I have a foam acoustic barrier going around one side of it. That'll make us sound better."

"Cool! Don't need to get that then." I crossed out **Mic... **and kept going.

**Guitar &amp; amp (Ask Dad or Astrid)**

"I've got an amp we can use, but my electric guitar broke recently. The Indonesian made kind. Unreliable and bad tone. I have my acoustic though."

**Headphones (Everyone)**

**Mixing board (Ask Gobber)**

**Speakers (Turn bedroom over!)**

**Mics for amps (Astrid and I)**

**Ukulele (Me)**

"Ukulele? Really?" Astrid asked. I shrugged my shoulders.

"Never know!" I protested. Will picked up the list and gave it a twice-over.

"Don't seem to be missing anything here, at least that I can think of...okay, you guys all good?" We all nodded together.

"Okay, I'll go speak to Gobber about getting Will a rental plan. You try and find what we're after, Hiccup." Astrid commanded.

"Yes ma'am," I said, mocking a salute in her direction. She hit my arm in retaliation and I winced.

"Jeez, why is it always violence with you?" I muttered.

"It's not violence, it's communication!" Astrid shot back with a smirk. "Come on, Will. Gobber! this is..." They left me with the MASCHINE and little KORG and I started to walk around looking for everything else we needed. I walked back to the desk I got the stationary from, and had a look in the glass cabinet that sat behind it. Behind the locked sliding doors sat microphones in different colours, shapes and brands. I saw up on a high shelf a drum mic kit that was reduced to a reasonable price.

"Okay, rental for these should be a doozy on top of the kit," I muttered, ticking off the drum mics. I went further down the shelf and saw two microphones that had small handles, but huge diaphragms*. They actually looked a little like ice creams. I chuckled at the sight of them and ticked off guitar mics and wrote down their price. Right next to them were several pairs of Audio Technica over-ear headphones. So far, so good! I knew I was going to grab the KORG and MASCHINE, so I headed back into the next room with the drums. On a wall behind all the acoustic kits were several electronic drum kits in a straight line. Several Yamahas and Rolands sat switched on and ready to be played. Hm, maybe too big combined with the acoustic kit, I thought. Then, my gaze swung left and I saw mounted on the wall, what looked similar to the MASCHINE, but the pads you strike to make a sound were much bigger, obviously meant to be hit with a stick. I walked up to a black one with red detailing that was named **ROLAND SPD-SX. **I scrolled through all the different patches, seeing several options to choose from, and the price tag for it had a little comment on it, saying that it comes with a CD rom that you can load your own samples onto and play through the module. Perfect! On a little bench next to the pads there sat a box of triggers*. Will will...Did I really just say that in my head? Oh, my gods, this is confusing... HE will probably need those at a later date, so we'll leave them for now.

"Okay, that's all the drum stuff sorted," I said. "Now for strings."

I walked under the archway and came into the guitar room. I hadn't gotten a closer look in there but this room was incredible! Gibson, Fender, Ibanez, Wal, ESP and Dean guitars and basses were everywhere! There seemed to be thousands of them sitting on the walls and frames.

"Wow!" I exclaimed.

"Aye, she's a beauty isn't she?" Gobber called out from over Astrid and Will's heads. They turned around to see the room and nodded slowly in admiration.

"You find most of the stuff we're after?" Astrid asked.

"Yep! Just gotta have a look at a few other things." I said.

"Hiccup and Astrid forming a band together? I never thought I'd see the day," Gobber said quietly, slowly shaking his head and smiling. "Where did the time go...?" Yeah...where DID the time go?

I walked to the far side of the guitar room and saw a few ukes strung up on wall mounts, and picked one up. It had a beautiful laquered finish on a brown wood body, an ebony fretboard and a headstock as shiny as the body of the hawaiian baby guitar. I strummed the four strings. Sounded like it was in tune. But then I realised it was noticeeably bigger than the other ones on the wall. The neck seemed to be a lot longer. Then I noticed on the price tag that it was a Tenor Ukulele. Oh, so it must have a lower register, I thought. I then strummed the strings again and realised they were tuned like the bottom four strings of a guitar. D, G, B and E. So the chords would be more similar to a guitar. Awesome! I put the uke back carefully and walked back over to everyone.

"Did you speak to Gobber about the mixing board and bass stuff?" I asked Astrid.

"Yeah! He said he has an old board in storage that we can use, and he helped me pick out some bass equipment and some good leads for everything."

"How's the rental plan looking for you, bud?" I asked Will.

"I think it'll be just fine!" he said, giving me some thumbs up.

"Okay, looks like we're good to go!"

* * *

**So, looks like they can start recording soon! Please review and follow!**

**-Ollie**

***-The diaphragm on a microphone is the silver bit you speak/sing into.**

***-Triggers are impact sensitive tiny clamps you put on your acoustic drums and are programmed to make electronic/natural sounds when hooked up to a drum module. Good if you want to go between electric and acoustic on one kit or in case a microphone fails in a live situation.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey everyone. First off, I wanna apologize for the huge wait on this one. I'm back at school and I haven't had the time or inspiration to update more sooner. Hopefully this compensates, although I will warn you as the year goes on the updates may get less frequent except on holiday periods when I'll have more time to write. Do enjoy.**

* * *

After getting all our gear sorted, Gobber took us all to a foam outlet store a few minutes out of town to grab our soundproofing equipment, and he was very helpful in picking out what we needed. And I've gotta say, I didn't know Gobber had artistic touch! Some of the panels that he helped us pick out didn't only have great soundproofing qualities, but their patterns to muffle the different sonic waves emitted from an instrument were beautiful! Watery ripples in the panelling, cube cut-outs and triangular prisms exploded from the foam at different sizes and lengths (Gobber said the prisms were for trapping bass) and there were different colour options to choose from. We decided to go with blue and green for the standards and black for the bass traps. After we got all our gear collected from the shop, we all went back to my house and started the process of transforming the rec room. Will helped me move my games and stuff into my bedroom and we all moved our recording gear into the room and set up the soundproofing. The effect when we re-entered the room with all the foam set up was eerie. It felt like there was no air in the room and there was zero ambience...it was like we were in space. Will showed us that he rented out a little Pearl bop kit wrapped in a silver sparkle finish that looked comparatively smaller than the one he was playing in the shop. The tiny bass drum, caught my attention the most.

"You sure that'll be an okay size?" I asked him as he assembled the kit. Astrid was out at the car grabbing her bass stuff and her acoustic guitar for me to try out.

"Oh, for sure! I've played a kit this small at home and you'd be surprised at how punchy the sound is. Plus, it's made of birch so it'll really bring out the tone." ...What?

"I have no comment on that, so...cool, I guess?" We laughed.

"Sorry, I really get into the finer details of everything when I ramble." Will explained. "Main reason why my Mum says it's hard for me to make friends."

"Really?" I asked. "Why would you have a hard time making friends? You're such a nice guy."

"Heh, thanks...but if I'll be honest with you, I am actually quite a kook. A guy I used to hang out with at school said 'compared to the others in our class, your personality is very complex, dude'...which was a kind of double headed reaction for me. I took it as a compliment but afterwards, I felt like it was code for 'you're too interesting for your own good and will have trouble making friends.'"

"Hm...I know what you mean. It took all my old friends a while to warm up to me. Thankfully it was effortless with Astrid since we grew up together."

"Best friends dating each other. Nothing more beautiful, Hiccup." He smiled. "Have you heard from any of your old mates?"

"Well...no, not really. Can't get through to Snotlout -Yes, we all have weird nicknames!- because he's fallen into the stereotype of 'Jock', Ruff and Tuff are off doing their thing and Fishlegs is busy doing his studies. And aside from that, it just looks like we all, sort of, drifted apart, anyway. I'm gonna do my best this break to get us all back together at some stage. I miss them."

"Good man. It's important to have friends who care about you."

"Yeah." We smiled at each other. He then gestured for me to come over to the kit.

"Can you help me out with the cymbals?" he asked.

"Sure...Whoa! This one is huge! Where does this go?" I picked up a cymbal that weighed a ton and was as long as my knee down to my toes.

"That's the ride cymbal, and if you come around here...yeah there you go...pop it on the stand on your right...that's right, good job!" He helped me name the other cymbals (the smallest one being a very appropriately named "Splash," "Hi-Hats", the "Crash" cymbal and a weird sounding bowl shaped cymbal called a "China". Not being a drummer I secretly thought the shape of the cymbal made the name racist...but who am I? NOT A DRUMMER.) and put the kit all together.

"Looks really good!" I said. "How's it sound?" Will played a swing groove with a solid backbeat and clever fills.

"Yeah! For a small kit it's very...solid?" I asked.

"Haha yeah, you're getting it!" Will laughed. "You wanna try it?"

"Wait, really?"

"Why not? You're already a multi instrumentalist with keys and guitar; might as well expand your repertoire!" ...True, I guess.

"Uh, okay!" Will got off his throne and gestured for me to sit down. He handed me his sticks, Orange Vic Firth's with a signature next to the logo.

"Dave Weckl Evolutions," he elucidated. "He's a drummer from the States and I use his sticks."

"Wait, so...he gives you his sticks?" He cracked up laughing.

"You're something, Hiccup. No, you can buy replicas of sticks used by endorsed drummers, called Signature sticks. I don't often use the Standard sticks you can buy because with the Signature sticks of drummers, they tend to mix and match different methods of stick construction and make something new. I like playing with these because they're the size of your typical 5A stick, but...you see where the stick tapers up to the tip?" He pointed this out and I nodded.

"That's called the shoulder," he continued. "It tapers off at a particular point I like that gives me perfect balance, and the tip makes some really good sounds on the Ride cymbal. I'll show you." He took an orange stick out of my hand and pulled out a generic stick from his bag. This stick had an oval shaped wood tip, where the orange stick had more of a teardrop shape. He hit the Ride cymbal with both sticks individually, and I noticed the orange stick gave a more clarified ping when it struck the cymbal.

"Oh, yeah, I can hear the difference!" He handed back the orange stick.

"Yeah, there you go...and really, who doesn't wanna play orange sticks? They're cool!" We laughed again.

"Okay, try a rock beat for me." Will said.

"Uh, okay...how do I do it?

"Bass drum on 1 and 3, snare drum on 2 and 4, and hi hat throughout." Okay...I put my right foot on the bass drum pedal and left foot on the hi hat pedal. I notice the hi hats closed on each other when I put my weight down on the pedal.

"Okay, good start," Will said. "Now, what feels more comfortable? Crossing your left arm over your right or as they are?" I tried both of them out.

"Uh, arms on their respective side feels better, I guess."

"Okay, that's called 'Open-handed technique'. Left hand plays the hi hat and right plays the snare." I moved my arms again and the sticks hovered over their respective percussive components.

"Ready?"

"Yeah."

"Okay...one, and two, and three, and four, and-"

He counted me off nice and slow and I fumbled my coordination on my first try. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh, this is gonna be hopeless!"

"It's only your first shot, keep going!" He counted me off again and I played again and again and..._again. _Finally, on my fifth try, I managed to hold everything steady.

"Yeah!" I cried. "This is amaaazing!"

"Nice! Try adding the crash!" Will yelled over the drums. One, two, three, four-CRASH! Woo-hoo!

* * *

**So, a little bit of OC bonding in this chapter.**


	14. Chapter 14

**No decent excuse for this chapter's lateness. I've been asked by NightFuryNinja1999 to write lyrics for his/her (sorry mate!) Hiccup's band in the story The Night and the Fury. Give it a read, it's pretty solid!**

* * *

"Man, that really hurts your calf after a while, huh?" I said as I finished my impromptu crash (aha, pun) course on a drum kit.

"Oh, for sure," Will agreed. "Especially if you're playing with two bass drum pedals. _That's _when the real pain starts to kick in."

"I'll bet! How do you do that with two pedals? It's nuts!"

"A lot of coordination, practise and plenty and plenty of listening."

"Wait, so, you learn those double bass drum songs by ear?"

"Yeah! When I was getting formal tuition, my teacher didn't have the books or sheet music to teach me double bass technique but as soon as I could buy myself a pair of pedals, I just hooked them up to my kit, listened to songs and played along as much as I could...it's something not many people can do, from what I've heard. Astrid told me in passing you could play Talk Is Cheap very soon after hearing it for the first time?"

"Yeah...I surprised myself, to be honest."

"Wow! Drums is one thing but keys is something else." He patted me on the shoulder. "That's awesome."

"Thanks."

"Okay! Where do I put these?" a voice from the door asked. Astrid walked in carrying her bass in one hand and her amp in the other.

"Uh, just over in the corner for now, maybe?" I suggested pointing to the back wall where the couch used to be. We moved it next to the window for whenever we wanted to take a break. Excuse me, _non-_window. In case we had any more ambience coming in from the outside, we boarded it up, blacked it out and placed foam on it. The only downfall from this upgrade was we didn't have any natural form of cooling or lighting. I'll get out the portable air conditioner if it gets hot, I decided.

"Oh, by the way, was that Hiccup drumming before?" Astrid asked as she set down her equipment.

"Yeah, that was me." I answered. "How'd you guess?"

"You were a little sloppy." She teased.

"...Oh, the hel you didn't." I shot back, putting on my best sassy voice.

"Oh, yes I did!" Will laughed and decided to join in.

"Girl, if you think you gon' mess wit' my boy Hiccup you are out yo' damn mind! Ooh Thoooor! Ooh Thoooooor! Gimme the strength...to NOT kill this punk-ass blonde yak over here, Thor!" OOOOOOOOOOOWNED! We all cracked up laughing.

"Ha-Yak? Really?-HAHAHA! Oh, gods..." Astrid cracked.

"Hahaha...relax, I'm not a misogynist but you may kill me for calling you that, I'm very sorry!" Will gasped as he rolled on the floor. My head was on the snare drum and I was laughing into the drumhead, the wire underneath rattling at every sound I made.

"Dammit, what is wrong with us?" I said in-between catching my breath.

"I do NOT know..." Someone sighed. "Anyway, is that everything?" Oh, it was Will talking.

"Just a few small things in the car," Astrid answered. "Come help me Hiccup?"

"Oh, yeah sure." I got up off the throne and followed Astrid back downstairs.

"So...he seems nice." Astrid said.

"Yeah, definitely...it's kinda weird, isn't it? That we just decided to trust a foreigner new to town in an instant, and vice versa?"

"Well he's not a _total _foreigner, Hiccup. I met him overseas, so he's kind of already a friend...but all that aside, he sounds like he knows what he's doing."

"Yeah, he was very into what he was telling me...I think this is gonna work out just fine!" I decided, sounding very optimistic.

"Agreed." We reached Astrid's car out the front and before she opened the trunk she turned around to look at me.

"How are you feeling?" She asked me. I didn't have a cold or anything...

"You mean...?" I guessed.

"Yeah."

"Oh, um...pretty good! Last episode was when Gobber broke the news, and I haven't been feeling anything major since then. I think your kisses are miracle workers." She snorted a laugh.

"That's what everyone says about kisses...I could say the same about yours," She flirted...flirted?

"Astrid, are we flirting?" I asked.

"I dunno...are we?" she teased.

"I don't know..." I smirked.

"We could call it that, if you like," she suggested as she leaned forward. Oh, I see where this is going...

"Whatever you say, milady," I uttered. I shut my eyes and leaned forward myself, waiting for a second kiss, but all my lips were touching was air. I opened my eyes and saw Astrid trying to hold in a giggle while she stood on the other side of her car.

"Really?!" I moaned.

"Sorry! As much as I love kissing you, we need to get our asses into gear and get the rest of the stuff upstairs!" She opened the backseat and pulled out an apple crate filled with cables and leads for our electronics and amps. I followed suit and opened the other door, pulling out the Roland sample pad I saw in the shop and some other miscellaneous stuff. We shut the doors in unison and made our way back to the front door.

"You are such a tease, you know that?" I mock-pouted. Without even looking at me, Astrid transferred her load onto one arm, and spanked me.

I know." And she raced inside, leaving me with a bewildered state of mind and a probably goofy grin.

* * *

**I want you guys to know that I have no intention of abandoning this story and it will keep going. Just hang on until around Easter time for better inspiration to kick in.**

**-Ollie**


	15. Chapter 15

**Okay, I'm back people! Lots of singing coming at ya! Lyrics are property of **

Sia Furler, Thomas Wesley Pentz, Andrew Swanson and Abel Tesfaye

Nicholas Murphy

Daniel Johns and Julian Hamilton

KEY ONCE AGAIN:

**BOLD: Hiccup**

_Italic: Astrid_

Underline: Will

Any combo of these means more than one singing :) Enjoy!

* * *

"...Hiccup? HICCUP!"

"What?"

"You okay? You look like you're daydreaming...feeling alright?" Will waved at me vigorously with a drumstick to snap me out of my haze. Astrid hit my butt...oh, my gods...

"Yeah...yeah, I-I'm fine." I nervously assured him. Astrid and Ii came back upstairs and we were sitting in an impromptu circle, our instruments facing each other.

"Then let's get it the fuck on! What do you guys wanna jam?" Will cursed with a wicked smile.

"I got an idea," Astrid began. "Everyone press the shuffle button on your Music Library and we jam whatever three come up."

We complied and lay out our phones on the floor, our shuffle buttons ready to hit on our screens.

"Okay, on the count of three," I said.

"One...two...THREE!" We all shouted. We all hit our shuffle buttons and our phones began to play music at once. Will's phone played Straight Lines by Silverchair, Astrid's phone played Gold by Chet Faker, and mine played...Elastic Heart? Since when did I have Sia on my phone?

"How'd this get on here?" I asked.

"Oh! While you and Will were drumming I took your phone downstairs and synced my library to yours. Thought you might need some inspiration." Astrid shrugged. I flicked through the rest of my library and there were hundreds more songs on there than I already had, which was only an album or two.

"Aw, thanks."

"Hey! Aren't these all Australian?" Astrid asked Will.

"Hey, they are! Weird, huh? I must have this native musical curse that follows me wherever I go," he joked. "Wanna do Elastic first? I wanna hear Astrid."

"Yeah, sure," she nodded.

We spent the next five or ten minutes looking up the tabs and whatnot to the song, and I found the chords relatively easy to play. Suddenly, Will hopped off his throne and connected the Roland sampling pad to my Mac.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"You know that _up_, _ey-oh, I won't give up _part that loops throughout the song?"

"Mm-hm?"

"I wanna see if I can snatch a sample of that, isolate it from the other instruments and loop it onto the Roland."

"Oh, cool!" I said, genuinely intrigued. After about five minutes, he found it, ran what he grabbed through a program called Audacity, made all the changes he needed to do, converted the file and loaded it onto the Roland. He took it over to his kit, connected it to an amp and propped the Roland on a spare chair to his left.

"Alright, I hope this works..." he said. He struck a pad and there it was: _up, ey-oh, I won't give up, ey-oh, I won't give-" _He struck the pad again and it cut off in sync.

"YES!" He bent over his kit and gave each of us a high five, which we gladly returned.

"Okay," I started. "Will, count us in?"

"Sure." I saw Will turn down the volume on the kit, and struck it again and again, starting the loop over and over. He started to up the volume quickly.

"And one-and-two-and-three-and-four-and-one-and-two-AND!" He started the loop afresh, striking the bass drum and crash at the same time, kicking things off solidly. I took my post for the intro and played the four chords, then Will played a quick solo to cue Astrid, who started playing bass and singing.

_And another one bites the dust_  
_ Oh why can I not conquer love?_  
_ And I might have thought that we were one_  
_ Wanted to fight this war without weapons_

_ And I wanted it, I wanted it bad_  
_ But there were so many red flags_  
_ Now another one bites the dust_  
_ Yeah, let's be clear, I'll trust no one_

Astrid looked at me as if to say "Join in."

**_ You did not break me_**  
**_ I'm still fighting for peace_**

**_ Well, I've got thick skin and an elastic heart_**  
**_ But your blade it might be too sharp_**  
**_ I'm like a rubber band until you pull too hard_**  
**_ I may snap and I move fast_**  
**_ But you won't see me fall apart_**  
**_ 'Cause I've got an elastic heart_**

**_ I've got an elastic heart..._**  
**_ Yeah, I've got an elastic heart_**

"Will-wanna-sing-Weeknd's part?!" Astrid said quickly.

"Okay!"

And I will stay up through the night  
Let's be clear, won't close my eyes  
And I know that I can survive  
I'll walk through fire to save my life

_ And I want it, I want my life so bad_  
_ I'm doing everything I can_  
_ Then another one bites the dust_  
_ It's hard to lose a chosen one_

**_ You did not break me _**(You did not break me, no no...)  
**_ I'm still fighting for peace_**

**_ Well, I've got thick skin and an elastic heart,_**  
**_ But your blade it might be too sharp_**  
**_ I'm like a rubber band until you pull too hard,_**  
**_ I may snap and I move fast_**  
**_ But you won't see me fall apart_**  
**_ 'Cause I've got an elastic heart_**

Astrid went all freestyle with the vocalising in the middle 8, then we jumped back into it. We sounded incredible!

_**Well, I've got thick skin and an elastic heart,  
**__**But your blade it might be too sharp**_  
**_I'm like a rubber band until you pull too hard,_**  
**_ I may snap and I move fast_**  
**_ But you won't see me fall apart_**  
**_ 'Cause I've got an elastic heart_**

_**Well, I've got thick skin and an elastic heart,  
**__**But your blade it might be too sharp**_  
**_I'm like a rubber band until you pull too hard,_**  
**_ I may snap and I move fast_**  
**_ But you won't see me fall apart_**  
**_ 'Cause I've got an elastic heart_**

_I've got an elastic heart...  
_

_"YEAH!" _Will yelled. He started clapping. "That was freakin' awesome!"

"WHOO! That really came out of nowhere, we sounded amazing!" I said.

"I'm proud of myself! I don't normally sing Sia, so that was an awesome challenge." Astrid grinned.

"Alright! What's next?" I asked.

"Will, can we do that...Silverchair(?) song?" Astrid asked.

"Yeah, for sure. There's piano at the start, but guitar for the rest of the song, Hiccup. You up for that?"

"Hel yeah! I haven't felt so pumped in forever!"

Astrid walked over to the corner of the room and brought back her acoustic guitar, a Yamaha.

"Beautiful," I said.

"Sorry I don't have an electric."

"Hey, no worries. I can make do with this for now." Astrid smiled, nodded and went back to her bass. I rested the guitar in my lap, ready to play. Once again, tablatures were on the internet screen for us, and we got it down. Astrid and I had a proper listen of the song before we played; we were both unfamiliar with Silverchair. Very rock-y song. It sounded pretty good.

"Okay, everyone ready?" Astrid asked. We all nodded and she started with the bass chords. After about eight beats, I came in with the piano. _Nice! _I thought.

**Breathing from a hole in my lung**  
** I had no one but faces in front of me**  
** Racing through the void in my head**  
** To find traces of a good luck academy...oo-oooh...oo-oooh, oo-oo-ooh...**

** Sparks ignite and trade them for thought**  
** About no one and nothing in particular**  
** Washed the sickened socket and drove**  
** Resent nothing, there's goodwill inside of me...****oo-oooh...oo-oooh, oo-ooooooooh...**

** Wake me up, lower the fever**  
** Walking in a straight line**  
** Set me on fire in the evening**  
** Everything will be fine**

** Waking up strong in the morning**  
** Walking in a straight line**  
** Lately I'm a desperate believer**  
** Been walking in a straight line**

** Something I will never forget**  
** I felt desperate and stuck to the marrow**  
** Invisible to everyone else**  
** I'm a sex change and a damsel with no heroine...****oo-oooh...oo-oooh, oo-ooooooooh...**

** Wake me up, lower the fever**  
** Walking in a straight line**  
** Set me on fire in the evening**  
** Everything will be fine**

** Waking up strong in the morning**  
** Walking in a straight line**  
** Lately I'm a desperate believer**  
** Been walking in a straight line**

** I don't need no time to say**  
** There's no changing yesterday**  
** If we keep talking and**  
** I keep walking in straight liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiines...**

** Wake me up, lower the fever**  
** Walking in a straight line**  
** Set me on fire in the evening**  
** Everything will be fine**

** Waking up strong in the morning**  
** Walking in a straight line**  
** Lately I'm a desperate believer**  
** Been walking in a straight liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine!**

More claps and cheers were exchanged, and I felt just like Astrid. That was a tough sing!

"Okay, and wrapping up on our one true love!" Astrid joked.

"Do we need tabs, Astrid?" I asked.

"Nah, I figured the song out on guitar, so I can play the bass part and show you the chords."

"Awesome!"

We spent about two minutes figuring out my part together and she started again, playing a smooth bass intro, and started clapping in time to the rhythm. Will and I joined in and she kept the bass going. Will took the lead this time.

You gotta know, I'm feeling love  
Made of gold, I'll never love a  
Another one, another you  
It's gotta be love I said it

You gotta know, I'm feeling love, mm...   
You gotta know, I'm feeling love

Then Will did a cymbal roll, and kicked into a rock beat.

**You gotta know, I'm feeling love**  
** Made of gold, I'll never love a**  
** Another one, another you**  
** It's gotta be love I said it**

I might as well be in a garden  
I said, ah  
A smell in the air is a dripping rose  
_**(you could be the one for me)**_  
Another soul to meet my void then  
Of anything bare that's made of gold

A physical kiss is nothing without it  
And you close your eyes to see what it's done  
The body that lies is built up on looking  
Cause all that remains before it's begun

**You gotta know, I'm feeling love**  
** Made of gold, I'll never love a**  
** Another one, another you**  
** It's gotta be love I said it**

**You gotta know, I'm feeling love**  
** Made of gold, I'll never love a**  
** Another one, another you**  
** It's gotta be love I said it**

A heart will swell before it's hardened  
With the flick of the hair, it can make you old  
Another hole to dig my soul in  
I'll leave anything bare that keeps me soul

A physical kiss is nothing without it  
And you close your eyes to see what it's done  
The body that lies is built up on looking  
Cause all that remains before it's begun

You gotta know, I'm feeling love  
Made of gold, I'll never love a  
Another one, another you  
It's gotta be love I said it

_** You gotta know, I'm feeling love**_  
_** Made of gold, I'll never love a**_  
_** Another one, another you**_  
_** It's gotta be love I said it**_

_** You gotta know, I'm feeling love**_  
_** Made of gold, I'll never love a**_  
_** Another one, another you**_  
_** It's gotta be love I said it**_

* * *

Finally some STUFF! And over 2000 words, so I'm happy! :)

Review and favourite x

-Ollie


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey everyone hope you've all been well. Here's another one. More coming soon. School's been hectic. Big news! If any of my readers live in Melbourne, Australia, I'm playing a show with my band Dear Laura tomorrow night May 8th at Wrangler Studios in Footscray. We're on at 6pm.**

* * *

"Not bad, people. Not bad!" I exclaimed. We all exchanged glances and smiled at each other. "Okay, let's reshuffle!"

We all reached out for our phones, but before I touched mine, it went off.

"Who's that?" I wondered aloud. I was getting a call from Mum. I picked it up quickly and swiped the screen.

"Hey, Mum, how are you?" I asked.

"Hiccup!" I heard her scream. In reaction, I jerked the phone away from my ear, then slowly returned it. There was quite a commotion going on in the background.

"Hello?"

"Hiccup, I'm in trouble at work! Can you come in?" Mum gasped.

"Sounds crazy, what's happening?"

"Those parrots I mentioned last night, they came in early this morning and I can't calm them down!"

"Whoa! No problem, I'll be right there! Love you!" I ended the call and spun around to face Will and Astrid. There eyes were wider than dinner plates.

"What was that all about?" Will asked.

"I've gotta head out to the zoo. Birds have gone cuckoo." I heard Astrid stifle a giggle, then I laughed when I realised the pun I made. "You guys wanna come with?"

"Sure!" Will said. "Mum and Dad asked me to check in on them anyway."

"I heard parrots on the phone? I'm freakin' _in!" _Astrid said gleefully.

"Alrighty, let's go!"

We all squeezed into my Golf and drove off. I felt really bad for Toothless.

* * *

_Before I locked the door, my cat rubbed against my legs and gave me the most heartbreaking mew, accompanied by pleading eyes._

_"Sorry, bud," I said as I scratched his chin. "Can't have you eating injured birds. I'll be home soon."_

* * *

"So, how long have you guys known each other?" Will asked from the backseat.

"Well, we grew up together," Astrid answered. "Apparently our mothers met each other in birthing class whilst they were pregnant with us, so basically we were screwed either way."

"Come now, I wouldn't say we were screwed," I countered. "We both turned out alright and look at where we are now; Seventeen years later and we're still in each other's lives."

"Touche!" Astrid said. I smiled, shook my head and kept driving. We got to the zoo in about twenty minutes and were greeted by the strength of the sun when we got out of the car.

"Damn, it's hot! What is it, 37 degrees?" Will exclaimed. Astrid and I immediately shot him confused looks.

"What?" he asked.

"Dude, it's not cold!" Astrid pointed out.

"Well, no shit! But what's...OH RIGHT! Sorry guys, I forgot you don't use Celsius up here." We all shook our heads and walked to the zoo entrance.

"Yanks," I heard him mutter.

"Jackaroo!" Astrid shot back. We all laughed and reached the front desk. The ticket handler, Luisa, a lovely Hispanic mother of two, flashed me a smile.

"Buenos tardes, Hipo! Como estas?" she asked.

"Buenos tardes! Estoy bien, gracias!"

"Oh, your español is getting better and better! Your Madre told me you were coming in."

"Cool thanks."

"Who are your amigos? Ooh, is she your companera?" She asked excitedly, gesturing to Astrid. "Ella es bella!"

"Si, la mas bella," I whispered, nodding. I wasn't sure if Astrid spoke Spanish, so I kept what I said down low. I glanced behind me, and she had her arms folded, her lips curled in a warm smile, and questioning but knowing eyes.

"You talking about me?" she teasingly asked. I narrowed my eyes playfully.

"Maybe..." I dragged out.

"I'm gonna get you later," she replied. _Wow...she sounds exciting! _

"Your face," Luisa suddenly said to Will. "Are you the hijo de los australianos?"

"Erm...si," Will struggled. "M-me llamo William."

"He understands!" she exclaimed whilst clapping.

"Only a little bit," he confessed. "Lo siento."

"Esta bien! Esta bien!" Luisa said, batting off invisible moths. "Go right in, but be ready. I heard it got pretty ugly in there."

"Okay, thank you," I nodded. "Los vamos!" Astrid and Will waved their goodbyes and we all entered the entrance courtyard. In front of a fountain was a metal map of the grounds. I immediately found the birds of prey facilities and prepared to lead everyone there but before I could say something, someone spun me around.

"Whoa, what's happen-" I was silenced by a kiss. Hard and slow.

"Hipo, te entiendo," Astrid finally said when we parted. _Hiccup, __I understand you._

"Oh, Shhh-mierda," I corrected myself, so as to maintain the joke.

"Okaaaay, um, I'm gonna find my parents. I'll meet you guys in five." Will said.

"Oh! No worries. We'll see you soon." Astrid said. He waved goodbye with a smile and ran to the north-west part of the zoo.

"Hope he doesn't feel like a third-wheel," I said worriedly as Astrid and I walked to the Bird area hand in hand.

"Oh, I'm sure he's fine," Astrid assured me. "We're not overly dependent on PDA's."

"Hm, that makes sense." We nodded and kept walking.

"Hey, are you okay with what happened before?" Astrid asked.

"Yeah! Why wouldn't I be?" I replied.

"Just wanted to see what your limits are, know what I mean?"

"Oh! No, that was totally fine! I actually loved it...and anyway, you _did _say you were gonna get me back."

"Heh, yes I did." I let go of Astrid's hand and put my arm around her shoulder, nuzzling her head. Just like old times, I thought.

"It's like we're on a date," Astrid said.

"Well I _am _the romantic type."

"You've got your ways."

We reached the staff entrance to the Bird house, and sure enough, there was a lot of squawking and screeching and screaming going on inside. Astrid and I shot each other nervous glances as I held the door handle.

"You ready?" I asked.

"Not really."

"Here we go..."

* * *

**Thanks for reading!**

**-Ollie**


	17. Chapter 17

I inched the door open a crack and peeped inside. I saw my Mum and one of her co-workers crouching in the corner of the room as two little parrots were buzzing around the place, squawking their multi-coloured heads off. They also kept crashing for some reason, then I saw that their wings had a crook in them. After some glancing around, Mum's eye's found mine and I nodded. _Stay still. We've got this. _I looked back at Astrid and formulated a plan in my head.

"Okay, we're gonna go in quietly. Follow me, and shut the door behind us as quietly as you can," I whispered. Astrid nodded confirmation and I slowly pushed the door open wide enough for us to squeeze and crab-walk through. Astrid shut the door and we took cover behind an examination table. After waiting for a little while, the birds finally calmed down and perched next to each other on the table across from us.

"Okay...Astrid?"

"Yeah?" she whispered.

I'm gonna get the one on the left, you go for the one on the right," I instructed as I reached into a nearby burlap bag of seed. "Take this, slowly move around behind her, run your fingers down her back, then feed her."

"Are you crazy?" she responded. "What if the bird bites me?"

"Trust me, it won't. I've done this before. You'll be okay."

"If you say so..."

"Give me your hands." I poured a reasonable amount of seed into them. "Remember: We've got this, yeah?"

"Yeah." She nodded nervously. We move to our respective corners of the table, threw each other one last glance, and a fist-bump for confidence. Astrid and I moved on the parrots, our movements almost mirrored. The birds spotted us easily but we avoided eye contact and moved slowly around them. Their heads followed us behind their table but we ducked out of sight quickly, so they would look forward again. After peeking over for confirmation, Astrid and I looked at each other.

_Watch me, _I mouthed. She nodded and I got up on my knees. I inched out my hand and finally, my fingers ran down the bird's raggedly ruffled back, and his head jolted up in surprise but then relaxed as I kept petting him. If birds could purr, he made a sound akin to that. He slowly waddled around to face me and I offered him some seed. Without hesitation he dug in but I noticed he took care not to nip me. I looked at Astrid with a huge smile and she gave me a grin and thumbs up.

_Your turn, milady._

She nodded and moved exactly liked I showed her. She reached out to the parrot that was eyeing me curiously. Astrid almost touched the feathers but hesitated when she was about an inch away.

_You sure?_

_You're almost there! Go for it._

She nodded one more time and gingerly ran her fingers down the bird's back. She reacted the same as mine and was soon eating out of Astrid's hand, not a care in the world. We both laughed in disbelief and relief.

"You did it!" I said.

"We did it," Astrid corrected. "Nice work, Haddock."

"Thanks, Hofferson," I replied. Suddenly, I saw Astrid's parrot hop onto her arm and crawl up her shoulder, before finally perching.

"Haha, you look like a pirate," I laughed.

"Arr," Astrid growled while bending her finger into a hook.

"You okay, Mum?" I called out. She and her colleague came out of their hiding place and approached us.

"Yes. Thank you, son." Then my parrot copied Astrid's and perched on my shoulder too. He started trying to make a nest out of my black t shirt, but I just scratched his breast.

"Ha, they like ya," she said. Her co-worker left the room to look after some other birds. "I didn't think to do that...sometimes I wonder why you just don't apply for me to be let go and take my job!"

"Aw, come on, Mum, you're brilliant at your job! I just improvised that."

"Well, your improvisation helped us."

"No worries," I said. Then we heard a knock at the door and Will walked in.

"Hey, guys you-Ace! You calmed them down," he said.

"Who's this?" Mum asked.

"Oh, uh, Mum," I began. "This is our new friend, Will. His parents started work here about a...week ago?"

"That's right," Will nodded in my direction.

"Ah, you're in the family from down under?" Mum inquired with a smile.

"Mm-hm," he replied. "Nice to meet you, Mrs Haddock." He approached her and held out his hand. Mum shook it.

"Oh, call me Valka," she fussed. "How'd you meet my son?"

"Uh, actually, we've started playing together," I interrupted. Mum looked at me strangely.

"How so?"

"Well, I took your advice, and the three of us are playing music together," I said as I gestured to Will, Astrid and I.

"Oh, you play, Will?" Mum asked.

"Yeah!" He smiled. "I'm a multi instrumentalist but I'm playing drums for these two."

"Where are you rehearsing?" Mum asked.

"Oh, we turned my rec room into a studio!" I chimed in.

"Wait, you did what?" Mum asked with a touch of concern in her voice.

"I-is that bad?" I asked with a crack in my voice.

"No! No, not at all. I wish you'd asked me or your father first, but, if this is helping you, Hiccup, go for it."

* * *

After the birds were accounted for and transferred back to Valka's care we said goodbye and made our way back home.

"So what did you get up to, Will?" I asked.

"Just checked in on Mum and Dad and looked after the Red Pandas."

"Oh, they your favourite animal?"

"Yep! They're so cute."

"Nope, birds are the best," Astrid countered.

"No, CATS!" I cried. And we kept arguing about random things kids argue about all the way home. When we pulled into the driveway I got out and walked around to Will.

"Hey," I said.

"Mm?"

"I'm really glad we met you." I smiled. "It's been a while since a guy spoke to me without threatening to shove my head into a wall."

"Yeah, bullies are shit like that," he replied. "And I'm glad I met _you _guys. This is just as close to my heart as it is yours. I never really got on well with my bandmates back home because we all wanted to move the band in different directions and some guys in the group weren't in it for the music at all, so this means a lot to me. I can't thank you guys enough."

And he gave me a hug. I hesitated at first, because I'd never been hugged by a guy before, but I gladly returned it.

"Hey, bromancers!" Astrid called from the front door. "You coming or what?"

* * *

**Sorry guys, been busy with school and band. Hope you liked this one.**

**-Ollie**


	18. Chapter 18

***UPDATED* HUGE chapter this time guys! At least by my standards aha. ENJOY! *Chase That Feeling was written by Matt Lambert, Barry Francis, Daniel Smith, (aka Hilltop Hoods), Warren Dale, William C. Brown &amp; John G. Williams***

* * *

It was nearing the end of July and the heat was finally starting to back off a little bit. The three of us had spent so much time together as a band that we were about as tightly knit as Toothless to a ball of yarn. Will had finally settled into Berk and things couldn't be going better for him. Occasionally on days off from practise I'd go visit him at his work in a crepe cafe and we'd talk over milkshakes whenever we had a moment. He was really into comedy and was telling me a couple jokes that he wrote for a competition one day. He wrote them for a puppet, so it didn't exactly have the desired effect, but once he gave me a run down of puppets and a clear picture of the scenario it was actually pretty clever. Astrid still had her job with Gobber at the Forge, and there was still plenty of products left in the shop. She told me one Saturday a family came in to get recorders for their four kids. I remember Astrid and I shuddering at the thought. Recorders. Yuck. No. Go away. Our relationship was going very well. We were accustomed to an extent with displaying in public and we couldn't be closer. Well, some people would've said we could be, but I hadn't made a bigger move on her, nor she on me, and we were both comfortable with that. We never brought it up because we felt we didn't have to. We both checked each other's boundaries whenever we started kissing, and we made a silent agreement that we didn't need to go further than we were at the moment. I'll be ready, someday...that's one of the things I love about Astrid the most. Though she could come off as violent and aggressive, she was, and still is, considerate, something I honestly thought no other girl in Berk was. But when it came to Will, he was pretty down on himself whenever we asked him if he had anyone special in his life. Every time we asked him he'd go quiet, fidgety and change the subject, but we'd brush it off all the same.

Over time we kept on learning covers and chucking around some instrumental ideas at each other and we had raw material for a couple new songs. I remember one day at practise Will told us about rap he wrote when he was 13.

* * *

"Did it get recorded?" I asked from behind my keyboard.

"Yeah, actually! What happened was, my local Department of Justice was working with a Melbourne based record label to produce a hip hop album that discouraged violence. Sounded very primary school-elementary school, sorry...but yeah, how they got the songs was, uh, two songwriters from Melbourne ran these song-writing workshops at schools in the state. I nearly didn't go to school that day because I had a cold. I'm glad I did go that's for sure! To my excitement, one of the songwriters was my favourite rapper, Pez. He gave us a backing track and we all had to come up with lyrics to it. He chose mine out of everyone else's to be put to the music, and even tried to get me to come in to record it, but it didn't happen because it wouldn't have been fair on the other schools. I think I still have it on my phone; wanna hear it?"

Astrid and I nodded in unison and he played the song and rapped along to it.

* * *

**VERSE:** Basket case is what I'm certified, born with concrete wings, never learned to fly,

These scars and burns are like glue on my skin, all came from the city I grew up in,

See, my candle's been burning from both ends, and neglect been around me 24/7

Mum and Dad were never there for me, getting hurt every day was nothin' rare for me

**C****HORUS:** The flick knife, without the flick, that's what I want from life, it makes me so lovesick

A day away from my personal hell will get my message across, let em know how I've felt x2

They think it's rain but it's really tears, falling down my face as I'm facing my own fear

See this black cloud strung to my neck, I got up on my feet I'm no longer a wreck (OH!)

I never felt this way before, see this black cloud wither as it falls to the floor

Sunlight colours their blinded faces, drop their guns, straight back to their hiding places

**CHORUS**

**BRIDGE:** A life without fear is dawning on me, and it warms me inside now my eyes can see... x2

**CHORUS**

* * *

We both clapped.

"Not bad!"  
"Nice! Was that about you?"

"Oh, no no no! Just wanted to come up with a story and it came into my head that day, you know?" he replied.

"Can you rap anything else?" I asked.

"Uh, yeah, can I borrow the keyboard?" Will asked. I nodded and got up out of my seat. He went through a couple patches and found a drum loop, quickly switched it off and played. Then the drums were triggered for real.

She's young, lithe and homely, wise by no means  
Known one guy she's for his eyes and only  
He's a lying phony, leaves crying, lonely  
Separates the pain by staying high and though she

Might just O.D., high price to go free  
This ain't living, listen it's dying slowly  
It's got a hold on me, she can chase that feeling  
don't chase that feeling like I've...

Been looking for, something that's good for the rich, yeah the blind and the poor  
The thing that I've...been looking for, something that's good for the rich, yeah the blind and the poor

Sometimes I feel we strive for a life of apathy  
Callous deeds, other mindless acts of greed  
Ain't jack for free, I think they'd try a tax to breathe  
It's like we fight to remind us that we bleed

I take flight in the night from lack of sleep  
'Cause peace of minds the only time that we're free  
and I'm a chase that feeling  
we all chase that feeling

It's like they try to build you up to watch it all collapse  
You try climb out the pit, they'll try claw you back  
Like back in the factory packing the shelves  
It was hell 'cause the foreman was always harassing me

Like, "How's your little old music thing going?"  
Now I'm like, "How's your bitter old loser shit going?"  
And I'm right, and I'm a chase that feeling  
I'm a chase that feeling like I've...

Been looking for, something that's good for the rich, yeah the blind and the poor

And I'm a chase that feeling  
Take that pain and replace that feeling  
And I'm a take that healing then  
Stand so tall they'll have to raise that ceiling man

From a young age I was making my mark, chasing my start  
Forever ain't enough when your state of the art  
Fuck the haters that had said I'd never make it this far  
It's the pavers that I'd tread to dedicate to my craft

I've tailored every thread that bare the shape of my heart  
Treating every breathe as my first and day as my last  
It's got a hold on me, I still chase that feeling  
It's got a hold on me, yeah, I still chase that feeling

I ride the rails of a vinyl track  
Fall into a trance and there ain't no climbing back  
Sit and lose myself in all the hidden loops  
They're like forbidden fruits, I'm like can I get a bite of that?

Gin and juice, I get loose and I write a track  
Shivers down my spine, feeling more like a spinal tap  
It's got a hold on me and I'm a chase that feeling  
I'm a chase that feeling like I've...

Been looking for, something that's good for the rich, yeah the blind and the poor

And I'm a chase that feeling  
Take that pain and replace that feeling  
And I'm a take that healing then  
Stand so tall they'll have to raise that ceiling man

At start of the summer  
I'm a come to life and have the heart of a hummingbird  
And I can hear the drummer  
She's so ugly but I'm so in love with her

Wake up, roll out of bed, throw on some roll-on,  
Roll up to the studio  
It's got a hold on me and I'm a chase that feeling  
Chase that feeling...

* * *

Ever since Astrid and I sorted things out with the birds, Mum had offered me a proper job working with her at the zoo 3 days a week, and also welcomed Astrid in whenever she was interested, and the three of us worked together to nurse the baby birds back to health, and boy they had grown. Once it had been a month since they arrived here, we took the two of them back home to spend some time with Cloudjumper and taught them to fly again. Astrid's parrot had become really attached to her, and was named Stormfly, apparently because she flew faster than a storm, which was fair enough. The parrot I was looking after, I nicknamed Flume, because of how blue he was. Flume of water, get it? Anyway, moving on...

* * *

And that brings us up to speed, with Astrid invited me over to her mother's house for dinner the other Tuesday night. Although Astrid and I's families knew each other since nearly forever I couldn't help but feel nervous as we crossed the porch. I looked down at myself, and eyed my dark jeans, the leather boots that Will lent me, and my green button up shirt. All I could think was 'I'm overdressed.'

"You sure, Astrid? We could do this another night-?"

"Out of the question," Astrid cut me off suddenly, but she softened when she wrapped her arm around my waist. "My mother loves you, and I want you to meet my little brother! He's been wanting to meet _you_ for ages."

"Gosh, really?" I asked, brightening up a little bit.

"Yeah! I talk to him about you all the time. He gets really excited."

"How old is he now?"

"Uh, four!"

"Wow! And he gets excited whenever I'm brought up?"

"I know, it's weird..."

"Heh, takes after his sister-ow!" Astrid nicked me in the arm.

"You're just as weird as I am." She shot back.

"I know." And without missing a beat I tenderly kissed her temple. Then I heard her grumble.

"Really? I was doing so well though..."

"Well, I just know your weakness..." I smirked. Regardless, she smiled and squeezed my hand before she opened the door and led me inside.

"Hey, Mum, we're here!" Astrid called out. I could hear some pots rattling in the kitchen and Astrid's mother appeared in the hallway, wearing a white summer-y dress and some bracelets. Her blonde hair was down over her shoulders, and she looked fantastic! I wonder what Astrid would look like with her hair down, I thought to myself.

"Ah, here he is!" she exclaimed. "My gods it is so good to see you after all these years, sweetheart." Astrid's mother came up to me and we exchanged greeting kisses and a hug.

"Yeah, so good to see you too, Carol," I replied cheerfully.

"My, don't you look dapper? And look how tall and handsome you are!" she said as she fingered the fabric of my shirt. "Please come on through." Before we followed, Astrid and I exchanged a glance.

"So far, so good," I whispered. Astrid nodded, squeezed my hand again and led me through to the kitchen. We sat down at the kitchen bench on some white leather bar stools whilst Carol kept an eye on what she was cooking.

"Help yourself," Carol gestured to the plate of cheese, crackers and antipasto between the three of us. Oh, my Gods I love this stuff! We filled up on the platter while we spoke about our day.

"So, what have you two been up to today?" Carol asked.

"Oh, you know," Astrid answered. "Today was our day off from band so Hiccup and I did some more work with Cloudjumper and the parrots. They're getting better, for sure."

"Yeah," I agreed. "I'll be really sad to see them go." Then Astrid shot up in posture and looked at me in shock, but then deflated when she realised I was right.

"Yeah…I'm getting so attached to them. They're our babies."

"Got that right," I muttered. Trying to inflate the mood I changed the subject.

"So, how's work?" I asked Carol.

"Yeah, it's been really good," she said. "I'm now working in a maternity clothing shop. Ever since we left my ex-husband and got the…restraining order…" She went quiet for a moment, but then shook her head and continued. "Sorry, where was I? I had to quit my job at the hospital, and babies were my thing, you know, and maternity fashion was the closest thing I could get back to babies in the workforce. It's not as exciting as delivering them, but it's relaxing." All I could do was smile and nod. So things were solid in the Hofferson household. That was a relief, for sure.

"Okay, should be ready in another five minutes!" Carol announced.

"Smells good, what are we having?" I asked.

"My pizza," she answered with a smile. Then my days as a six year old came flooding back into my head, when Astrid and I sat in the front yard and shared pizza with each other.

"Yes!" I whispered. This night kept getting better and better. I looked at Astrid.

"You remember when we-?"

"I was thinking the same thing, Hiccup," Astrid deadpanned, then we cracked up.

"Ah, great minds," I sighed.

Astrid smiled at me warmly and turned around in her chair.

"Look who's here!" She cooed. I turned around myself and saw a cute little boy standing in the living room with short blonde hair and the same blue eyes as Astrid. He was wearing a black onesie that looked so cute.

"Who's this?" I asked with a big smile. Astrid hopped off her stool and led me over to the little one. He reached up to Astrid and she scooped him up in her arms.

"Hiccup, this is my brother Kye!" Astrid introduced. "Kye, this is Hiccup." He reached out a hand and waved.

"Hey bud," I said to the little boy as I held out my hand. He took my index finger and shook it. He locked eyes with me and then gave me a huge smile. "Hiiiicup!" he giggled.

"Yeah, that's me!" I said. "Hiiiiicup!" I mimicked. Kye laughed so hard I couldn't help but laugh along with him. He was adorable.

"Are you Astrid's boyfriend?" he asked innocently. I looked at Astrid on the word "boyfriend." Hel, it was the truth, but it seemed like a crazy dream that was out of my reach.

"Uh…yeah," I laughed nervously. "Yeah, I'm… Astrid's boyfriend."

"Mm-hm, he's my boyfriend!" Astrid said brightly as she bounced Kye on her hip.

"Does that mean we can play together?" Kye asked. Astrid and I playfully eyed each other.

"Oh, I don't know, Kye…" Astrid started to tease. "He's a big boy, and I don't know if he'd be much fun…"

"Yeah…I'm boring, sleepy, smelly—"

"_Please?"_ Haha, we got him.

"Oh, alright," I fake-huffed.

"Yay!" And without warning Kye jumped from Astrid's grasp and clung to me like a koala. I did a little yell in response but laughed it off and gave him a hug back. He was a wild little Hofferson, like his sister when we were little.

"Aw, look at you both," Astrid said to me.

"Haha, yeah, look at us," I said. He nuzzled my face as he giggled, and I pecked the top of his head. Then I saw Astrid holding out her iPhone towards Kye and I.

"Oh, gods, that is too beautiful," she sighed as she looked at the freshly taken picture. All I could do was scoff and shake my head.

"Girls, huh?" I questioned Kye. He looked at Astrid and stuck out his tongue.

"I agree!" And I stuck out my tongue at Astrid too. She fake pouted in response and sauntered into the kitchen with her arms folded.

"Mum, the boys are being mean," she said.

"Is that true?" Carol asked with her hands on her hips. Kye and I just looked at each other and shook our heads in sync. I saw Astrid stifle a giggle.

"No? Okay then…" she shook her head and took the pizza out of the oven. "Who's hungry?"

"Me! Me! Me!" Kye bounced around in my arms and I put him down so he could bum rush the pizza.

"Yeah, I could eat!" I said as I sat next to Astrid on the bench again.

"Well, have as much as you want, I made two pizzas for all of us."

"Awesome!" I said. "Thanks for having me for dinner; this is wonderful."

"Oh, Hiccup, it's a pleasure having you here! It's nice having another man in the house," Carol giggled. I chuckled in response.

"Yeah, a nice,_ strong_ man," Astrid corrected as she squeezed my right bicep.

"Oh, thank you for rubbing it in," I drawled. She moved her hand down to mine and locked our fingers together.

"No, I mean it," she said with a smile.

"Hm, thanks," I said as I rested my head on her shoulder for a moment.

"Okay dig in!"

We spent the rest of the night eating pizza, catching up on the past few years, and played with Kye until he had to go to bed. While he was still up he dragged me to his room and took out some finger puppets of dragons. We went back into the living room and Kye Astrid and I had fun having a muck around with the little felt figures and we zoomed our fingers around the carpet. Kye's favourite thing to do, I discovered was me balancing him on my feet as I laid on my back. Every time I pushed his little body up in the air he'd do Peter Pan's crow and I'd crack up. Then when it was bedtime, he gave me a big hug.

"I love you!" he whispered in my ear.

"I love you too, bud," I whispered back and I ruffled his hair. "Sleep tight."

Carol took him off to settle down to sleep, leaving Astrid and I on the couch.

"Look at you!" Astrid exclaimed as she snuggled into me. "You're a natural with Kye."

"Thanks! Who would've thought?"

"I know! He loves you."

"Yeah, he actually told me himself just now," I admitted.

"Aw…" Astrid cooed.

"You've got the best brother, you know that, right?" I asked.

"Yep, he's a little badass!" Astrid cursed. We laughed together and it died down softly.

"Hey?" I said.

"Hm?"

"Thanks for bringing me over tonight, I've had a great evening."

"Me too. And Mum was telling me how much she's missed you."

"Yeah, I've missed her too…I've missed _you, _Astrid." Then she looked me in the eye for ages with a little sadness, then she spoke.

"I've missed you so much." She whispered. Then we kissed each other, our lips locked for a long time. When we broke apart I held Astrid tighter than I ever had before, and she crushed me just as much as I did, her.

"Wanna watch a movie?" Astrid offered.

"Sure."

She put on Silver Linings Playbook and we fell asleep in each other's arms about halfway through the movie. Life was perfect.

* * *

**Please review x And I did get a song I wrote recorded a few years ago. I have the CD framed on my wall. Good times.**

**-Ollie**


	19. Chapter 19

**Hey! I'm back, people! Lyrics are by me. Please don't be a douche and steal them, they're very personal to me as well as Hiccup. Sorry this one's a little short.**

* * *

The next morning, I woke up at around 8am with a blanket draped over me. Wait, where's Astrid? I sat straight up in panic but calmed when I saw a Post-It sitting on the table.

_Had to go into work._

_Mum and Kye are still asleep._

_Help yourself to breakfast and I'll be over for practise tonight._

_Astrid x_

Oh, phew! I sat up and walked into the kitchen, looking for cereal. I opted for a bowl of Rice Bubbles and sat down at the island with my back to the sun shining through the glass patio doors behind me. What a nice morning, I thought as I quietly munched on my breakfast. The silence was comforting and helped me think about Astrid. I thought about last night, and everything else that was going on with us. I was madly in love with her. Always have been and always will be. I felt ready to tell her tonight...but this is Astrid Hofferson we're talking about. Stubborn as a viking and just as fierce when she wanted to be. Hey, it'd be no problem! She's been a lot more affectionate than usual. True, but still...no I can't. Not tonight. I don't know if she _loves_ me either. Just give it some more time, I think...yeah. Last thing I want to do is lose her. She is my reason to live. Settling on that, my mind wandered onto other things...lyrics...everyone at school...anger...frustration...how a lot of people can be so fake...Snotlout...Heather...left stranded...feeling invisible...being toyed around...I grabbed a nearby blank piece of paper and pen and started writing furiously. I never took the time to get this all out. I was angry.

**I am young, I am blind, I got left behind**

**Rhetoric by name and archaic in design**

**I adhere to no one, no-thing, no god**

**Try all you want to but I am too flawed**

**Molded, scolded, shaped into a golden**

**Idol of a false prophet, sent to keep you all in line**

**You stripped me to my bones…give me back what's mine!**

**Take me for granted, take me for one of them**

**Pull me out and smile at me then drown me once again**

**I'm only human, I'm only man**

** Push me forward and nail me down, call me out and cut me down **

**So sift through the sawdust and pick me apart**

**Fuck me up and shut me up don't let me stand, don't lift me up**

**Set alight my beating heart, Should've known that you were rogue right from the start**

**I'm a pathetic apathetic parenthetic individual**

**Dragged down by those who dwell in the digital**

**Revolutionising the norm, Pressurising to conform**

**My heart broke a long long time ago, I'm disillusioned by the status quo**

**Blank eyes, obscenities, in a forest of burning trees**

**Heartbroken, naïve, Was it you or was it me?**

**Take off your mask, tell me the truth, I wanna hear it from YOU!**

I scribbled all over the lyrics, balled up the piece of paper, threw it across the room and screamed. Then the tears started as I curled up into a ball on the floor. I never took the time to cry about losing everybody when I started to get bad; now I could, and was. Why are you crying? I thought you were good! So did I! I was MORE than good! So why now and not earlier? ...I don't know. I have Astrid, and I don't ever wanna lose her...the thought of losing her, made me think of what I'd be going back to, and how I was treated before I had her to hold, kiss and love. That's rough, man. Yeah, it is...

"Hiccup?" a small voice called out. "Why are you crying?" I wiped my eyes and saw Kye still in his onesie and staring at me from the hallway entry.

"Don't worry about it; I'm okay." I sniffled.

"No, tell me. Why?" Kye asked as he walked over and sat next to me.

"You wouldn't understand, you're too little..." I said, trying to drop it. He shouldn't have to see me like this.

"Help me." I looked at him properly. His eyebrows were knotted into serious concern.

"Well, okay...your sister and I have known each other since we were younger than you, but when I was 15, I was diagnosed with what's called anxiety, which is...do you ever get worried about things?" I asked him. He nodded.

"Well, it's like being worried, but VERY VERY worried. It feels terrible, Kye. And, uh, when that happened... I stopped seeing your sister and our friends. I'm so happy that I'm her boyfriend, but it just made me sad to think about when we weren't boyfriend and girlfriend. No one was around me, and whenever I tried to make friends they were rude to me and pushed me away."

"Oh..." Kye said.

"Yeah, its a lot to take in, huh?" He nodded again.

"Can you keep a secret?" I asked. Once again, he nodded.

"I love your sister so much, Kye. More than anything else."

"More than cake?" he asked. I laughed at that.

"WAY more than cake. I've wanted to marry her since I was your age." I chuckled.

"Really?"

"_Really_ really." I nodded.

"It'd be cool if we were related!" Kye said.

"Yeah! Then we'd play all the time!"

"Marry my sister as soon as possible!" We laughed again.

"Do you want a hug?" Kye offered.

"I would love one, thank you." I accepted. He crawled into my lap and wrapped his arms around my neck, squeezing me tight.

"You're awesome, Hiccup. Remember."

"Hm, thanks bud."

"Hiccup...you love my daughter?" A new voice asked.


	20. Chapter 20

**Two updates in one day! I've reached 20 chapters YES! My goal was to always crack twenty so I'm really proud of myself. Thank you all so much for staying with me over the course of this story.**

* * *

I looked up, and saw Carol standing where Kye was earlier. She had a slight smile on her face but had a look of sadness about her, too. I picked Kye up as I stood and approached her.

"With all my heart, Carol.." I said strongly, despite my predicament.

"Hm...I know," she chuckled. "Somehow I've always known."

"Really?"

"Mm-hm. You were always affectionate with her when you started pre-school together. It was pretty obvious," she laughed.

"Damn!" I jokingly cursed. "I guess I'm not the most subtle of individuals, am I?"

"No-pity No-pity No."

"When can I have a girlfriend?" Kye asked as he turned his head to face us.

"Not til you're twenty," Carol and I said in unison, and we laughed again.

"Aw, man!" Kye groaned. I ruffled his hair in sympathy.

"Baby, go sit in the kitchen I'll make you breakfast. You want pancakes, Hiccup?" Carol offered.

"Sure, thank you!" I accepted as I sat Kye on a bench. I sat with him and we talked as she made the batter.

"Hiccup, I don't know if you heard, but a last year Astrid was in a relationship with Scott."

"Yeah, I heard about that," I replied with a sour taste in my mouth. Who _didn't _know about it? It was the talk of the school when tenth grade started back and punched a hole in my heart.

"Hm... he came over a lot and if I'll be honest with you, I didn't like him the first moment he walked in the door. He was way too...full of himself, I guess. My biggest concern the whole time they were together was he'd try to take advantage of her, but I think Astrid didn't like him too much either. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Did you ever hear anything at school about them doing...stuff?" She brought it down to a whisper for the sake of Kye, and my eyes widened at the mental image which made me a little sick.

"Uh...I...I-I don't think so...sorry, its awkward to imagine."

"Shouldn't have asked, I'm sorry."

"No! No, it's okay. I don't think so...I don't really pay much attention to _that _kind of gossip, but if something like that did happen, I'd probably pick it up quickly, so no I haven't heard anything of the sort."

"Fair enough." Carol shrugged.

"I was worried that would happen, too. Even though she's as tough as nails, I couldn't help but think it DID happen at some point. Scott will do anything to get what he wants..."

"Disgusting...but enough about hating on teenagers; I wanted to talk about you." Carol said, changing the subject.

"I'm not in trouble am I?"

"Oh, no no...unless the reason you came over was to sleep with Astrid?" My butterflies went crazy, and I looked scared.

"Uh...that wasn't-"

"I'm just kidding!" Carol laughed. "It's okay. I trust you, Henry, not to take advantage of my girl." She smiled.

"The thought never crossed my mind, Carol," I replied. "Even if we thought about doing that sort of stuff, I'm personally not ready to go there anyway," I confessed. "Most people my age have already done that, but I'm still one of _those _guys. A girl at school called Heather nagged me to do stuff casually with her on the last day of school but all it did was scare me. Why do people my age treat sex as if its just an insignificant thing? The way I see it, if I'll be honest, is sex should be with somebody you love, not some "nooky" or whatever people call it...and most of all, you should never do it if you're being pressured, like I was almost pressured with Heather."

"I know exactly what you mean. Can I tell you something?" Carol asked. "When I was your age, I was actually pressured into my first time, and...it sucked! I regretted going along with it and I made a promise to myself that I would teach my kids not to make the same mistake I did. Now, Astrid never talks to me about these things, so I wouldn't know what was going on, but if you and I are on the same wavelength about this, then I have complete faith in you to be a good boyfriend for her, and...uh, this is silly."

"No, tell me," I smiled warmly.

"Okay. If you two ever get married, I prematurely give you my full blessing for you to have my daughter for the rest of your life." WHAT?

"...Oh, gods, are you serious?" I asked, now grinning.

"Yes! Just abstain for a little while longer, okay?" She winked. I then blushed.

"Uh, like I said, I'm not ready yet, so no worries there." I shrugged.

"Okay...you know you can talk to me about any of these things, yeah?"

"Yeah, I do," I smiled. "Thank you."

"Of course. Come here." She walked around the counter and gave me a hug which I returned.

"We've missed you, Hiccup."

"I've missed you guys, too."

"Mummy!" Kye called out. "Where's the pancakes?" We let go and laughed.

"Wanna help me make em?" Carol offered.

"I'd love to."

* * *

**Glad I'm back in the swing of things. Hope you liked these back-to-back chapters everybody! Please keep the reviews coming and I'll have more to update real soon. And I'm sorry for keeping you guys hanging on the last chapter! :P**

**-Ollie**


	21. Chapter 21

After breakfast, I said bye to Carol and Kye and made my way into town. I got a lift to their house with Astrid so I'd have to get the bus home. They only lived about a block or two out from the main shopping district so it was no biggie. As I walked by Will's work I checked in the window to see if he was on today, and sure enough, I spotted him in his white shirt, black pants and apron, turning a crepe on a hot plate. Watching him work right then made me contemplate crepes but I remembered I just had pancakes...gods-damn my sweet tooth! Anyways, I decided to go in and catch up with him.

"Morning Will," I greeted as I took a seat on a bar stool. He placed a finished crepe under a hot lamp for a brunette waitress around our age to come collect.

"Hey, mate, morning yourself!" Will returned cheerfully with a handshake. "Can I get you something?"

"Uh, just the usual, thanks."

"Coming right up." He made me a chocolate milkshake and one for himself.

"One of these days, your boss is gonna call you out; You know that right?" I teased.

"Oh _ha ha," _Will retored. "Two things, my brother: One - My boss couldn't give two shits what I consume for free, and Two - I finish pretty soon anyway."

"Oh, only a morning shift?"

"Mm-Hm." I then saw him try to surreptitiously glance over my shoulder at something, but his body language made it clear something was bothering him.

"Will, are you okay?" I asked.

"Uh, yeah...I'm fine," he dismissed rather quickly. I followed his eyes and looked over my shoulder to see the waitress from before. I got a better look at her and saw she was rather pretty...OH!

"Will! You like that girl or something?" I pressed. He looked rather glum.

"...I don't know," he huffed. "She's been acting real strange lately. When I found out we were gonna be moving here I thought it'd be good to chat to somebody before we moved so I'd at least have one friend before I arrived, and I found her on Social Media and introduced myself. So we've known each other for a couple months and she'd been so nice to me and she was there for me when I was going through shit with my band back home, and we've been hanging out a little bit recently, and...I think I've got it hard for her."

"So what's the problem?"

"The problem is, I've been receiving mixed signals from her a lot now. A couple of nights ago on chat, she started flirting with me and I was like _wait, what? _So, I bantered back to see what would happen and she kept doing it, and blah blah blah, until I asked her what we were doing. Then, she went all coy about it and denied what she was doing. And whenever we see each other in person she acts as if nothing happened. Its killing me, Hiccup. Literally killing me." My Gods! What the hell?

"Oh, Will, that's rough...is that why you're uncomfortable whenever we bring up special someones?"

"Yeah," he nodded sadly. "That, and I never had the best of luck with girls back home, anyway. Everyone where I came from either wasn't my type or had barely any regard for me at school. and...something else but that's a story for another time."

"Fair enough," I shrugged. "What is your type?"

"Ah, I dunno, um...Intelligent, beautiful, supportive, similar tastes to mine, fantastic listener...anyone who could be my rock, I guess."

I hummed in thought. Well, he's got the right type...I better change the subject in case he gets any more glum. "So you finish soon...wanna catch the bus home with me and we can jam for a little bit?"

"I'd love that, thank you," Will accepted gratefully.

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Oh, uh, sure."

"When you're around Astrid and I...do you feel like a third wheel?" I rushed the last part.

"What?" He laughed.

"Are you jealous of me and Astrid?"

"What? Oh, hell no, man I'm not jealous of you guys at all!" Will laughed again.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I promise," Will assured me. "I actually think its beautiful you guys are together. You're a cute couple." Then it was my turn to laugh.

"Thank you."

"All good, man...Although a part of me does wish I had someone who loved me, I think its awesome you guys are together."

"Heh, thanks, but I don't know if she loves me, but..."

"...You love her?" Will finished for me. I slowly smiled.

"Yeah." He grinned at me and nodded.

"I always knew there was something different about you, Hiccup. You feel all these things and you're straight and open about them. You're braver than you probably think you are and that's why I'm glad you and I are friends. Nothin' but love for you, brother." He finished with a slightly ghetto voice (Hope that wasn't racist).

"Hey, what are brothers for?" I chuckled. We fistbumped and kept chatting for about ten minutes before he ducked out the back to change into his casuals. He emerged wearing blue jeans and a brown Henley top with a few buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up. He looked like a blonde Nathan Drake. As he came up to me I hummed Nate's Theme, and it didn't take him long to hum along with me as we left the café and we burst into fits of laughter as soon as the door shut behind us.

"Great game, that one."

"Hell yes."

Okay, let's find a bus home."

"Lead the way, Sulley."

"Take that back! My hair is not silver!"

"You sure about th...?

* * *

We found a bus and headed straight for home. Once we entered our studio we tracked a couple of ideas for an hour or so, jammed a couple covers here and there and went back downstairs at noon for lunch. Will offered to make French Toast. I hadn't had it in years and my already sugar loaded veins would have to cop another clogging, so to speak. When Will was almost done, Toothless jumped on my lap from out of nowhere and eyed the batter curiously.

"Nuh-uh, not for you," I jokingly scolded as I picked him up and cradled him like a baby, like I always do. As usual, he started purring like a motorcycle but his eyes pleaded with me and he mewed a couple of times.

"Will, look, he's pouting," I laughed. He craned his neck over the bench and laughed.

"I love that cat."

"He is the best! But no batter for you, bud." I kissed his head and set him back down on the ground. Then the front door opened.

"Hiccup?!"

"Oh! Hey Dad, in here!" I called out. Dad walked into the kitchen with a smile on his face.

"Hey, son. Ooh, French Toast?"

"Yessir," Will said nervously.

"How many times must I tell you, young William? You can call me Stoick!" Dad boomed proudly as he clapped Will's back.

"Ah, but there's an inlying irony there. You asked me to call you Stoick yet you called me WILLIAM in the process." Will replied.

"...Touche. Anyway, good to see you again, lad."

"Good to see you too, si-Stoick. Want some?" Will gestured to the high pile of bread.

"Yes please!" I've got quite a long break before I have to head back out."

The three of us chatted and ate together until Dad interrupted.

"Will, do you mind if I have a private word with Hiccup?" Dad asked unexpectedly.

"Oh, uh, not at all! I was just gonna go tune up the drums anyway." He left the kitchen and bounced upstairs.

"Okay...Son, I wanted to apologize to you."

"What for?" Wait, where was this coming from?

"I know I should've done this a while ago, but now that you and I actually have a moment...I wish we had more moments together, Hiccup, I really do. But work is pulling me one way and family the other, its a terrible tug-of-war for me at the moment. And what with your mother needing more enclosures I've had to work longer days to help her out and help out others who need it. But I..." Tears started to form in his eyes. WAS THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENING? One slid down his bushy cheek and caught on his beard.

"I'm sorry I didn't-don't spend more time with you, son. Work is taking up my world right now but _you_ are my _whole world. _I hope you can forgive me for not being a better father these past few years. I didn't take the time to help you when you were going through what you were going through and I regret leaving you with your pain, but know I always looked out for you..._Always_, even when I couldn't talk to you about it. I...I love you."

I nearly felt like crying too. True, he didn't have the greatest support for when I was suffering, but I didn't care. The fact remains he was still here, looking out for me, and even just for that, I'm grateful. Choking back tears, and full of deep breaths, I spoke.

"As my friend, Will, would say..." I put my arms around him best I could and hugged him.

"I got nothin' but love for you, Dad."

* * *

**I realised there was virtually no father/son interaction in my story until now. I really enjoyed writing this one. Hope you liked reading it too. **


	22. Chapter 22

**Singing makes a return! Song used is written by Thomas Bangalter, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, Nile Rodgers and Pharrell Williams...you probably already know what it is. If you've forgotten my key:**

**BOLD = Hiccup**

_ITALIC = Astrid_

Underline = Will

_**Any **__combination _**means _more than one singer._**

* * *

Dad picked me up swiftly and held me in a bonecrushing hug that kinda spoiled the moment.

"Dad...! Need...! To breathe...!" I choked.

"Oh, sorry, sorry..." Dad put me down and brushed off my shoulder.

"Oh, this is long overdue!" Dad suddenly cried out. "I want to show you something."

"Uh, okay." I said with a smile. He led me upstairs into his and Mum's bedroom.

"Your room...well, the drapes do look new," I remarked sarcastically.

"Oh _ha ha." _Dad retorted. "It's down here." He got on his knees and reached under his bed. After a little while and a couple head bumps, he found something.

"Oh, here it is!" He pulled out a hardshelled case.

"You still had it?!" I exclaimed with bright eyes.

"Aye, of course! Just took me forever to remember where I put it." He unbuckled the case and lifted the lid open, revealing a Fender Blacktop Telecaster with a maple fretboard, black body and silver humbucker pickups and hardware.

"Dad...it's beautiful," I said in quiet awe.

Aye...she's yours now." He lifted it up out of the case and held it in front of me. I carefully took it.

"Hiccup, I know you're going to do great things in the future and I know you're going to do us proud...when you carry this axe, you carry all of us with you. We're proud of you and we support you." He placed a huge hand on my shoulder.

"Thanks, Dad." I patted his hand and gave him another hug. He took care this time to not crush me as I still held the guitar in one hand. We let go and he looked at his watch.

"Well...it's time for me to head back, I think. I'm really glad we had a chance to talk today, Hiccup."

"Yeah, me too!"

"I'll be home tonight. We'll talk then?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Good boy. Have fun."

"You too!" He left me alone in the bedroom with the guitar. I sat down on the edge of the bed and played a couple of chords. It felt perfect in my hands.

"Knock knock," Will said from the doorway. "Oh my Gods...is that a genuine Fender?"

"Don't know about the authenticity, but I think it is!"

"Check the back of the headstock," Will said as he pointed. I turned the guitar so it was facing further away from me and saw on the back in small handwriting-

"Made...in...America..." I made out.

"Yep!" Will cried as he clapped his hands. "That's a genuine Fender! Man, that is beautiful. Was it your dad's?"

"Uh-huh, he gave it to me," I smiled.

"Wow, you're so lucky...oh, hey! Now we can do better guitar stuff!"

"Oh, yeah we can!"

"What are we waiting for?!" I packed the guitar back in it's case and took it into our studio. After taking the guitar out along with a pedal board hidden in a special compartment, I plugged it in and had a couple strums.

"Oh, Hiccup! We totally gotta jam this song!" He brought it up on his phone.

"Uh...we definitely need Astrid for that one," I said.

"What do you need me for?" A voice chimed in from the doorway. Astrid entered the room and squeezed my shoulder as she picked up her bass.

"Huh! You got here early!" I remarked.

"How was work?" Will asked.

"Not too bad. No more Recorder purchases, thank the gods...So what are we doing?" Will played the first five seconds of the song and Astrid's eyes sparkled.

"Dead easy. Love that one," she said as she rubbed her hands together. "Hey! New guitar, Hiccup! Beautiful...Alright, Silverchair, on your count." Will nodded and counted us in. It felt good having all of us play again.

**Like the legend of the Phoenix**  
** All ends with beginnings**  
** What keeps the planets spinning**  
** The force from the beginning**

**We've come too far _to give up who we are_**  
**So let's raise the bar** _**and our cups to the stars**_

**She's up all night to the sun**  
**I'm up all night to get some**  
_**She's up all night for good fun**_  
_**I'm up all night to get lucky**_

_**We're up all night to the sun**_  
_** We're up all night to get some**_  
_** We're up all night for good fun**_  
_** We're up all night to get lucky**_

_** We're up all night to get lucky**_  
_** We're up all night to get lucky**_  
_** We're up all night to get lucky**_  
_** We're up all night to get lucky**_

The present has no ribbon  
Your gift keeps on giving,  
What is this I'm feeling?  
If you wanna leave I'm with it...ah

We've come too far _**to give up who we are**_  
So let's raise the bar _**and our cups to the stars**_

_**She's up all night to the sun**_  
_** I'm up all night to get some**_  
_** She's up all night for good fun**_  
_** I'm up all night to get lucky**_

_** We're up all night to the sun**_  
_** We're up all night to get some**_  
_** We're up all night for good fun**_  
_** We're up all night to get lucky**_

_** We're up all night to get lucky**_  
_** We're up all night to get lucky**_  
_** We're up all night to get lucky**_  
_** We're up all night to get lucky**_

_ (We're up all night to get_  
_ We're up all night to get_  
_ We're up all night to get_  
_ We're up all night to get)_

_ (We're up all night to get _**(together)**  
_ We're up all night to get _(let's get funked again)  
_ We're up all night to **get lucky**_  
_ We're up all night to **get lucky)**_

**_ (We're up all night to get lucky_**  
**_ We're up all night to get lucky_**  
**_ We're up all night to get lucky_**  
**_ We're up all night to get lucky)_**

**_ (We're up all night to get lucky_**  
**_ We're up all night to get lucky_**  
**_ We're up all night to get lucky_**  
**_ We're up all night to get lucky)_**

We've **(we're up all night to get lucky)**  
Come too far **(we're up all night to get lucky)**  
To give up **(we're up all night to get lucky)**  
Who we are **(we're up all night to get lucky)**  
So let's **(we're up all night to get lucky)**  
Raise the bar **(we're up all night to get lucky)**  
And our cups **(we're up all night to get lucky)**  
To the stars **(we're up all night to get lucky)**

_**She's up all night to the sun**_  
_**I'm up all night to get some**_  
_**She's up all night for good fun**_  
_**I'm up all night to get lucky**_

_**We're up all night to the sun**_  
_**We're up all night to get some**_  
_**We're up all night for good fun**_  
_**We're up all night to get lucky**_

_**We're up all night to get lucky**_  
_**We're up all night to get lucky**_  
_**We're up all night to get lucky**_  
_**We're up all night to get lucky**_

_**We're up all night to get lucky**_  
_**We're up all night to get lucky**_  
_**We're up all night to get lucky**_  
_**We're up all night to get lucky**_


	23. Chapter 23

**Hey everyone. First off, I wanna clear some things up:**

**This story is NOT dead. Repeat: NOT DEAD.**

**Schools just been getting getting more hectic because exams are happening in October, I haven't had the time to write anything and I've been rehearsing all year for an arena show I finally played on Saturday night. In light of this that'll be good material for later on. I HAVE been working on this story, just on a particular chapter that's not due until WAY later on because I just want it to be perfect. MrsAvanJogia has read it so she'll know what I'm talking about and her feedback has been helpful. It will be the biggest one excluding lyrics in the word count. Anyway, read on, and my deepest apologies for the bloody big wait.**

* * *

After playing for another hour or so, we all decided to take a break and head downstairs. Will was inside having a nap on the couch while Astrid and I were outside working with Flume and Stormfly. We both wore leather gloves whilst we handled them and basically got them to fly up to a high branch and then come back for a reward of seed, and then repeat. Cloudjumper watched them from the very top of the enclosure with wide eyes and seemed to hoot the two parrots encouragement every time they got higher and higher. On around their tenth launch, they both managed to get up to a branch about 3 feet beneath Cloudjumper. As Astrid and I watched them up there, we saw a black figure sneak around the back of the tree and climbed it quickly and quietly.

"Uh, Hiccup, what's that?" Astrid asked. I just smiled and shook my head.

"Don't worry, he always does this."

"He?"

Toothless climbed up to Cloudjumper's branch and placed himself underneath the owl's wing, like one would put an arm around a friend, but Cloudjumper seemed to scowl at him and removed his wing from the Bombay's back. Then Toothless' pupils grew to two massive dots, pleading with the bird to be friends. Astrid and I couldn't help but _aw._

"Poor cat," I tutted. "That's the hundredth time he's tried to be pals with Cloudjumper. Maybe its the instinct of bird+cat=no?"

"Hm, probably." Astrid pondered. Suddenly, all the birds started bobbing their heads and "talking", so I decided to sit down on the grass and draw. I took off my glove and pulled the book and pencils out of my oversized jacket pocket.

"Hiccup?" Astrid piped up as she sat next to me.

"Yes, milady?" I grinned.

"Can I take a look?" Astrid asked, gesturing to my book.

"Sure." I handed it over to her and she slowly flicked through the pages. Toothless. Dragon Toothless. The House. My car. Dad. Mum. Toothless again. Cloudjumper. The parrots. Will's hands holding a pair of sticks. Astrid. She froze.

"Hiccup, is that...?"

"Mm-hm." I said shyly. "I-if you don't like it, I can-"

"No, no, no!" Astrid panicked quickly. "I...I don't know what to say." We both stared at the picture. It was a simple drawing of Astrid, leaning against a brick wall at school, her arms crossed as she was gently smiling off into the distance. She was wearing a blue t-shirt, knee-length skirt and leather sandals that day, and I don't think her braid ever looked so beautifully intricate.

"When did you draw this?" Astrid asked.

"Um...around April, I think? I remember it was really hot that day...you looked wonderful."

"Hiccup, it's...beautiful."

"So's the subject," I smiled nervously. She lightly punched my arm.

"You're such a sap," she teased. Then Astrid picked up my left hand and kissed it. "Don't change."

"Don't plan to."

As I flicked back through the other pages, my eyes stopped on the picture of Toothless as a dragon, and when I looked up at Stormfly, I had an idea.

"Astrid, you're gonna love this!"

My eyes flicked back between the parrot and the blank page, and after about 15 minutes, I had a scary looking, yet strangely beautiful dragon baring it's impressive teeth at us. Blue scales, a spiny frill, horned nose, spiky tail, and spots/stripes of yellow and gold. To finish it off I signed in the bottom right corner my signature: 4 vertical strokes in a row with one horizontal going through the middle. My 3 H's.

"Hiccup...is that-"

"It's Stormfly!" I proclaimed proudly. "You know those dragons on my wall?"

"Yeah?"

"I never got a chance to do one for you...or Scott...but hey, I don't think I ever planned on doing one for him anyway."

"This is for me?"

"Yep!" I tore the page out carefully and handed to her. "I'll try her again on canvas, see how it turns out-ah!" Astrid had pounced on me and pinned me to the ground.

"Hey, what are you-mm!" My lips were cut off by hers and my hands automatically wound around her back. Soon after we stopped kissing and she stared at me adoringly.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." My thumb softly stroked her cheek as we looked at each other, and the world seemed to stop moving. _I love you._

Our moment was interrupted by a soft _mew! _and we both craned our heads to see Toothless back on solid ground and staring at me curiously.

_Do you have to do that out here? _his eyes seemed to ask.

"Sorry, bud, are we grossing you out?" I asked as I reached for his head and patted him. Toothless purred and came closer to us. Astrid reached out to him too and we were all in a weird, tangled cuddle. The parrots screeched above us, and I looked at the drawing of Stormfly lying next to Astrid's foot.

"I called the dragon Toothless a Night Fury...what should we call Stormfly?" I asked Astrid. She picked up the drawing and studied it a bit closer.

"Hm...well, she certainly looks deadly." Astrid commented.

"Deadly...hm, not a bad place to start." The parrots continued to talk to each other.

"Gee, they won't stop naddering will they?" Astrid groaned. She started to sound agitated.

"Naddering?" I asked as my face contorted in confusion. "That's an odd verb, where'd you come up with that?"

"Don't know actually. Just came into my head one day and it stuck. I used to use it in my head and say 'ugh those cheerleaders won't stop naddering'.

"So basically to nadder means to talk nonsense?" I remarked smartly.

"Correct!" Astrid got off me and helped me sit up.

"Hey, what about Deadly Nadder?" I suggested. "I know it doesn't contribute much definition wise but what do you think?"

"It DOES have a nice ring to it...Deadly Nadder it is!" We shook on it and watched the birds some more.

"Hey, when we get back to school, why don't we call the cheerleaders Nadder-Heads as an in-joke?" Astrid suggested.

"Done!" We laughed together, then I realised something. The three of us didn't have a name, and as soon as Nadder-Head came into my mind, I stared at Astrid.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" I asked.

"I think I am!" Astrid grinned. We both jumped up and made our way back up to the house, but not before I scooped up Toothless. We ran into the living room and stood in front of Will, who was fast asleep.

"Will, wake up!" I said. He jumped awake with a yell and fell off the couch. Astrid and I did our best not to laugh.

"Motherfu...oh it's you guys! What's up?" Will asked as he stood up to stretch.

"Nadder-Head." I said.

"What?!"

"What do you think of the name? Nadder-Head." He looked at us dumbly for a moment, but then smiled.

"I have no idea what that is, but I love it!"


	24. Chapter 24

Once Will had been thoroughly shaken out of his sleepy trance Astrid and I dragged him upstairs.

"Whoa, What's happening?!" Will asked as we stumbled upstairs. I found a drum key lying near his stool and started loosening the front hoop of the bass drum.

"Why are you taking off the reso head, Hiccup?"

"You'll see!" Once all the tension rods were loose I separated the bass drum from the pedal, and turned the drum so it was front side up. Taking care not to nick something, I carefully removed the hoop from the front of the drum and lifted the resonant head with the Pearl logo off of it's resting place. Astrid cleared some space for me on the computer desk and I put the head down.

"Okay...there...not in here...where are they...?" I muttered to myself as I searched my drawers for different coloured permanent markers.

"Wait, you're not gonna draw on that are you?" Will asked. I nodded.

"Mate, Gobber would kill me! This is a rental, remember?"

"Psh, he won't care."

"You _sure?"_

"Yes, yes! Now quiet, I need to concentrate." In the reflection of the blackened computer screen, I saw Will look at Astrid. She just smiled and shrugged. I shook my head and chuckled as I got to work. 5 minutes into it, I looked over my shoulder and noticed I was alone. I panicked for a second but heard voices downstairs. Ah, they're still here.

Twenty minutes and a signature at the bottom later, a much more detailed drawing of Stormfly's dragon head gracefully adorned the resonant skin. Grinning in success, I quickly placed the head back on the drum, rearranged the setup back to it's original form and called Astrid and Will back up.

"All done now, guys!"

They soon clambered up the steps and I don't think I'd ever seen Will so speechless. His eyes were wide as blue golf balls and his mouth refused to close.

"Are you kidding?" He finally said. Then, without warning, he jumped into me and hugged me like Kye did last night. 2 Koala tackles in 2 days...Life was grand.

"Hiccup, its incredible!...Sorry, I'm probably too heavy." He unwound himself from me and jumped back onto the floor. Then, all three of us just put our arms around each other and stared at our workspace.

"We have a name," Astrid murmured.

"Mm-hm..." I agreed. Only then did it really sink in that-

"We're a band," I grinned. I then started laughing. "We're a band!" I don't know who started it but we all started to lean on each other's heads. I hadn't felt closer to any friends in my life.

Out of nowhere, the doorbell rang and made us all jump. We went downstairs to the front door, which I opened and saw someone I hadn't spoken to in so long.

"Freddy?"

Freddy "Fishlegs" Ingerman stood before us. He had gotten a little taller but he certainly hadn't leaned out. He was wearing a huge brown leather jacket, green chinos and black sneakers.

"Hiccup, hi!" He piped up excitedly. "Astrid! What are you doing here?"

"We've been writing music, Fishlegs," Astrid said as she surreptitiously linked her fingers with mine. I turned my head to her.

_You okay? _I asked.

_Something just doesn't feel right. Are _you _okay?_

_Yeah, why wouldn't I be?_

"Oh! Cool! ...I...uh, always did say you'd do something with it, Hiccup." Don't get me wrong, I was happy to see him, but you could seriously cut the tension in the air with a knife, and I couldn't help but be a little standoffish with Astrid.

"Yeah...what are you doing here?" I asked.

"Okay, before you say anything, I know I wasn't there for you when I should've been, but we went to school together Hiccup, and I came here to make amends so we can start over as friends."

"Oh...alright...um, do you wanna come in?"

"If that's okay."

"Sure." The three of us lead him into the living room. Whilst we were walking Will gently tugged on my sleeve and leaned into my ear.

"He's not giving you any trouble is he?" Will whispered.

"Nah, don't worry, it's okay," I replied. The four of us kind of stood around in the living room waiting for someone to start talking.

"So...making amends...what did you have in mind?" I asked Freddy.

"Well, first off, I'm truly sorry that I wasn't there for you when I should've been, but I am here now and will help you in any way that I can, if you'll accept it of course." He held out a hand, waiting for me to shake it...oh, who was I to refuse my old friend? I took a few steps forward and firmly shook his hand.

"Apology accepted." Then we found each other doing a handshake we came up with when we were 10.

"Awesome!" Freddy gushed. "This is also a double header: I've been invited to a party tonight to...it's a surprise...and I was just wondering if you guys would like to come out, have a good time? Oh, I'm sorry, what was your name?" He asked, gesturing to the aussie on my left.

"Will. I think I caught your name was Freddy?"

"Freddy or Fishlegs, whatever suits." Freddy said as they shook hands.

"House party?" I wondered aloud as I scratched my head. "I dunno, I've never been to one before."

"Me either," Will chimed in.

"Well, hey," Astrid began. "Good chance for Hiccup to cut loose and Will, you can make some more friends? Sound good?"

"Since when do I never cut loose?" I jokingly scolded Astrid.

"Since you can't put two words together coherently when I kiss you."

"Ohmygod! Are you two together?" Freddy nearly screamed.

"Mm-hm," I nodded confidently as Astrid and I took each other's hand and stood quietly on display.

"FINALLY!"

"What?" Astrid and I said in unison.

"When we were twelve, the twins and I had a bet on the fact that you guys would end up together or not." We just scowled at him.

"Don't worry, I bet in your favours!" I just laughed. "And I knew it was bound to happen anyway."

"Well, I'm sold," I finally conceded. "When does the party start?"

"Tonight at around 8, so that gives you guys a couple hours to get ready."

"Cool!" Will and I said in unison.

"I'll see you guys there," Freddy said. We all said goodbye and we were alone in the house. Will look at Astrid.

"Fishlegs? Hiccup? Where do you guys come up with these nicknames?" I just laughed.

"William Stanley," I said theatrically. "Welcome to Berk."

* * *

**More of the gang are in the mix now! Haha please please please review.**

**-Ollie**


	25. Chapter 25

**From now on, this story will be M. More of what you will read in this chapter WILL happen later on in the story.**

* * *

"Okay, so it's five o'clock now," I said as I checked my watch. "Mum and Dad should be home in about half an hour...What do you guys wanna do in-between now and then, in terms of getting ready?"

Will and Astrid looked at each other and thought for a moment.

"Uh, I'm happy with what I'm wearing, I guess," Will said as he turned and looked at himself in a nearby mirror.

"I have a spare change of clothes in my car, so I think I might get dressed soon," Astrid decided.

"Hm...well if you guys wanna take some showers as well, feel free," I offered. "I might have one myself, actually." I sniffed my shirt and recoiled. "Correction: I _will _have one."

And with that, we all split up and individually did our preparations for the night. I walked into the private bathroom in my room, stripped and got in the hot shower. I sighed in sweet relief as the droplets hit my body and I leaned on the glass screen. My thoughts wandered to odd places, as they do for everyone when they're in the shower. I then started to think about Astrid...there were some weird things going through my mind, which I'll leave up to you to imagine. The steam was bothering me more about what I was envisioning and I suddenly realised my hand was headed for my-

"Don't, don't..." I muttered. "Don't do this..." I knew that step in our relationship had to happen eventually, but right then...it just felt wrong to be thinking about her like that. I snapped my hand away from my groin before it could make contact and rested it on top of the glass screen with the other set of fingers. After making use of the body wash I got out and dried myself off. Towel wrapped around my waist, I opened the sliding doors that separated the bedroom from the bathroom and gasped in surprise when I saw Astrid standing in front of me with one towel wrapped around her torso and one in her hair. We were both only wearing towels. I started to shake a little.

"Hiccup, do you think it was weird that Fishlegs only showed up _now_\- uh..." I saw her eyes widen as they started to wander up and down my body.

"E-e-everything alright?"

"Yeah, everything's...everything's fine," Astrid barely whispered as she continued to stare at me. I couldn't help but feel a bit of pride rise within me. She was enjoying this. And I couldn't help but stare at her too. Her legs looked silky smooth and slender..._Wow...Don't! Don't!_

"Uh, sorry!" Astrid suddenly snapped both of us out of it. "I uh...just wasn't expecting you to be wearing a towel, that's all."

"I wasn't even expecting you to come in here, let alone...wearing towels, heh," I chuckled awkwardly. "So...this is a...first for...both of us..."

"Yes, it is!" Astrid laughed. "Now, I've already seen...this before."

"You just gestured to all of me," I teased.

"Oh _ha ha," _Astrid sarcastically responded. Then she did a little twirl. "You like what you see?" I chuckled and suddenly my eyes softened to the softest they've ever been, I think.

"You're beautiful." I murmured. I held out my hand and she took it with a little squeeze. I ran my thumb over her hand softly and stared into her eyes. She took a step forward, grabbed my waist and kissed me. I gladly responded and wrapped my arms around her back. But then I started to shake even more and my chest did the tiniest strain. I withdrew from her a couple centimetres, and we looked just as confused as we were before our first kiss. I went back in for more, and after one month of being together, we started our first ever make out session. I was noticeably not as experienced as her, and the fear of slipping up only made me shake even more. That and...we were both practically naked. Is this gonna go where I think it is?! We shuddered in pleasure and fear whenever our lips separated and my chest grew tighter and tighter but I tried to fight it, hoping to find some kind of relief in our carnal behaviour. What the hell was I doing?! _This is just making it worse! But I wanna give this to her. You can't! You're not ready! _Astrid's arms slid up my back, moved around to my front, and started to move down my belly...more...and more...and more...when her fingers brushed the fringe of my pubic hair, I-

"Stop! stop! stop! stop!" My chest had reached it's breaking point and my lips broke away with a loud smack. I started to panic and retreated into my wardrobe, shutting the doors behind me. My back slid down the doors and I curled up on the carpet, tears streaming down my cheeks.

"Henry? Henry! I...I am so...so sorry..." Astrid said from the other side of the door. "I don't know what came over me..."

"It's okay, Astrid!" I choked. "Just...I'll be back out in a minute, okay? Please don't go..."

"Not going anywhere. I promise." I felt one of the doors open a few inches and Astrid's hand came through the gap, found mine and held it tight. Once my chest had settled, I let go of her hand, stood up and slowly opened the doors. Astrid was waiting for me on the end of the bed and she looked devastated. I looked down, and my hands were still shaking. My lip started to quiver, I sat down and I collapsed into Astrid and let it all out_. _

"I'm so sorry..." I sobbed into her shoulder.

"Shh...it's okay...shh..." Astrid said as she stroked my hair. "If anyone's to blame it's me...I shouldn't have done that..."

"Why'd I have to have this, Astrid? Why couldn't it be something else?"

"Sometimes...these things just happen...and...you can't help it..."

"I wish I could, though...if I hadn't been diagnosed, I'd never have lost you...or Freddy...or everybody else...I wouldn't be scared of showing you how much I love you!"

...It wasn't supposed to be like this. But, it was out there. _FUCK! __No, own this. Be her _**_man._**

I let go of Astrid, wiped my tears with my wrist and sniffed.

"I love you, Astrid...more than anything in the world...ever since we were three...and I...I hate the fact I can't give this to you, as much as I want to..."

"You...you _love _me?" Astrid asked. I had a good at her face. She was in shock. All hope seemed to be gone.

"_Yes_...but, let me guess, you don't love this...sad, frightened, depressing little hiccup..." I said as I stared at the floor. Then I felt a familiar jab in my arm.

"Ow!"

"_That's _for beating yourself up." Then, she grabbed my face and gave me her gentlest kiss ever.

"And _that's_ because I love you, too." Astrid whispered.

"...You love me, too?" My lips curled up a little.

"Heh...I guess I always have but...well, you know how stubborn Hofferson's can be..." I couldn't help but chuckle.

"You love me?" I asked again, smiling.

"Yes, I do...after all...who wouldn't love all this much raw..._this?"_

"Once again, you just gestured to all of me," I sarcastically groaned.

"Exactly. I love all of you, Hiccup...now come here and give me a hug..._I'm cold" _She said the last part in a heavily put on Californian accent.

"_Fine!" _I fake moaned. I took her in my arms and we just drank each other in.

"Hiccup?" Astrid broke the silence and rested her forehead on my shoulder.

"Hm?"

"Look, we'll...we'll cross this bridge when we get to it, eventually, but...you know we never have to do anything you're not comfortable with, right?"

"Right...I'm sorry about all this Astrid," I sighed.

"Don't need to apologize, babe...If anything, this has made me realise I'm not really ready myself, actually." _What?!_

"Did...did you just call me 'babe'?" I smiled as I lifted my head to look at her.

"Yep, and you better get used to it."

"Hm," I pretended to think. "I _could _get used to it." We both laughed and just held each other some more. I felt so...giddy as I kissed her shoulder.

_*Knock knock*_

"Guys, you in here-AGH!" Will had entered the room, saw the two of us and bolted straight out the door, slamming it shut.

"I am so so so so sorry!" Will's slightly muffled voice called out from the upstairs hallway. Astrid and I just stared at the door, flabbergasted, then broke out into fits of laughter. Eventually Will joined in from outside. I was heaving so much I ended up falling backwards onto my bed. Once I regained some composure I squeezed my thighs together in case I accidentally flashed Astrid.

"What the hell just happened?" Astrid sighed as she got up off the floor, clutching her towel as if her life depended on it.

"I don't even know...we are so weird..."

"I'll leave you to get changed," Astrid said as she helped me up. We shared a quick kiss before she went out the door. I could hear her say hi to Will before she went down to the guest bedroom, and then Will entered the room with his hands over his eyes. His hair was wet from having a shower but he had all his clothes from earlier on.

"You decent?" He asked.

"Relax, Will, I'm _so _decent," I laughed. He removed his hands from his eyes and blinked at the light change.

"Phew, heh, uh...I can't tell you how sorry I am about before," Will apologized.

"Hey, don't worry about it, man...nothing was going to happen anyway."

"Oh...okay, uh...cool," Will struggled to smile.

"Don't worry, I'm probably less experienced at this kind of stuff than you are," I suggested.

"Actually, you're wrong...I've never even gone that far before." He admitted sadly.

"Really?!"

"Mm-hm...that's why I have such a bad time trying to coordinate myself around Victoria's mixed signals."

"Don't worry Will, the time will come when it will come," I said.

"Hm, I s'pose." I then had an idea.

"Wait there a moment." I disappeared into my walk-in wardrobe, took the towel off, hung it up neatly and got changed into some dark jeans, and a green collared button up shirt. Looking over my other shirts, I picked out a black collared long sleeve shirt with tiny white dots all over for detail. I slid the doors open and Will had taken a seat on the end of my bed.

"Whoa, you scrub up nicely!" Will said.

"Haha thanks...try this on." I held the shirt out to him.

"You sure?"

"Hey, you lent me your boots-which are over there, by the way-so its only fair for me to lend you a shirt of mine."

"Oh, thanks!" He pulled off his Henley top and buttoned up the black one. He rolled the sleeves up to his elbows for some heat relief and paired with his jeans, he looked pretty good!

"Yeah, nice!" I said. "That looks awesome."

"I feel awesome! Thanks, Hiccup, this is so nice of you..." he looked himself in the mirror. "Wow!"

"Yeah! Okay, what do you want for dinner before we head out?"

* * *

**(In sing song) Sexual Tension! Sexual Tension! ...please review.**


	26. Chapter 26

**LYRICS ARE PROPERTY OF JOEL ZIMMERMAN AND ROB SWIRE. SONG IS GHOSTS N STUFF. Do. Not. Hate Me.**

* * *

"A party?" Mum asked as we all sat down to eat steak and mashed potato. "Who's going to be there?"

"Uh, Fishlegs didn't really say, but I'm guessing...a lot of people?" I kinda sorta responded.

"Will there be alcohol at this party?" Dad enquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Uh, probably, but you know how I'm not big on drinking, anyway, right?"

"Hm, yes...well if any of you _did _end up drinking, who would be the designated driver?"

"Me," Will said as he slightly raised his hand. "I'm not really that big on drinking myself and I could really use the driving time."

"You sure?" Astrid asked.

"Yeah, totally!" He conceded. "More than happy to do this." Mum and Dad looked at each other for a moment and then back at us.

"Alright, but don't be home later than 11, okay?" Mum asked in a warning tone. "I mean it! You and Astrid have to work tomorrow."

"Of course, Valka," Astrid said. "I'll keep him out of trouble."

"Ahem, _right here," _I pointed out sarcastically.

"Oh, quiet you!" As Astrid and I stood up and cleared the plates, I got a better look at her as I followed her into the kitchen. She had changed into a leather skirt, blue jeggings and a red shirt. She looked so...Astrid. _My Astrid._

"You look really nice," I mentioned as I rinsed the plates.

"You scrub up nice, yourself, Haddock," Astrid smirked.

"That's what Will said to me earlier!" I laughed.

"Careful, he might crack onto you with all your raw manliness on display!" She teased as she poked my belly.

"Nah, come on! He wouldn't do that." We chuckled together as we left the kitchen. As we re-entered the dining room I hooked my pinky finger around Astrid's.

"So, you ready to go, Will?" Astrid asked as Will turned around in his seat. "Ready to ride out the time of your life sober?"

"Gee, way to rub it in, Astrid," Will responded sarcastically. "Yes, I am ready to head off. How about you two?"

"Yeah, we're good," I answered.

"Well, you three enjoy yourselves, but take care, alright?" Dad said as we all made for the door.

"No worries, Stoick, sir," Will said as he opened the front door for us. "Your son and future daughter-in-law are in good hands."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" Astrid yelled from next to me as I unlocked my car.

"Gottarunhaveagoodnightbye!"

* * *

"_Future daughter-in-law?" _Astrid asked from the back seat. She sounded really pissed. "You stupid aussies..."

"Hey, I was only speaking the truth," Will said as he smirked at me. I tried my best to stifle a giggle that was urging up my throat. It had escaped. Oh no.

"Not funny, Henry." Astrid pouted as she folded her arms.

_"Oooooooooooh, _she's brought out the big guns, Hiccup! Better run!" Will chortled as he drove. I shook my head and smiled. What a buffoon he was.

"And now, my dear Ms Hofferson, we are even," Will said in a very English accent.

"How so?" She grumbled.

"You pissed me off by reminding me I have to be sober tonight, so I get to piss you off just by stating the obvious! You two are gonna end up married, I know it!"

That was what I wanted, when the time was right, but I remained quiet.

"But hey, at the end of the day, it's just silly teasing all in good fun, right?" Will said as we passed through an intersection near the shopping district.

"Right," Astrid finally gave in as she smiled. I glanced at her in the rear view mirror and winked. She looked elsewhere as her cheeks began to flush. _Ooh..._We went past the Music Shop. The lights were still on and we could see Gobber inside, leaning on the desk and going through some archives.

"Can you see any instruments in the window, Hiccup?" Will asked.

"Uh, yeah, there's still a couple of kits in there, heaps of guitars...Not doing so well, poor guy..."

"Don't worry, we're saving that place...we have to, for my family's sake," Astrid said quietly as she stared at the shop. I glanced at her in the mirror and softened my eyes.

_Okay?_

_Okay, _she nodded.

We passed through a couple of quiet neighbourhoods, leaving the lights of the CBD behind until we eventually hit a gravel track with a mailbox at the gate.

***PLAY STROBE BY DEADMAU5***

"This the address Freddy sent us?" Will asked. I opened up my phone and checked the text he sent me just before dinner.

"Yep, this is the place," I confirmed. I got out of the passenger seat, opened the gate, ushered the car into the field and clambered back inside.

"oh, wait, see that glow in the distance?" I pointed out. There were some lights barely escaping the branches of a massive row of pine trees that were swaying softly in the warm breeze.

"We follow that?" Will asked.

"Looks like."

We drove the car trail for about 200 metres and the closer we got to the trees, muffled music started to get louder. The road winded in-between a gap in the tree-line and Will slowed to a stop as we took in a very incredible sight.

Down the hill, was a massive double storey ranch, and all around it, kids spilling out the doors onto the massive open space, and around the back, there were these flashing lights, which gave the source of the loud music blaring at us full blast.

"Freddy is here?" Will asked.

"Somewhere...well, let's find a park before we find him, yeah?"

"Okey-dokey..." Will took us in closer to the house and parked on the front lawn next to a red Ford with a license plate that said H00KFAN8. Astrid and I looked at the car, then at each other.

"Snotlout," we said in unison. As the three of us got out of the car, Astrid came around to me and took my hand.

"You're okay, right?"

"Yeah, of course, Astrid...its just Snotlout, I'll be okay...are _you _gonna be okay?" I asked her seriously.

"Uh...yeah, yeah I should be fine." I put my free hand on her upper arm.

"If either of us need to go, we'll go, okay?" I said.

"Absolutely," Will said as he put his hands on our shoulders. "Hiccup, if you're cousin's giving you grief and you guys wanna go, I'll get us out before you can say-Shit, Victoria's here!" He looked over our heads and there was that brunette waitress sitting on the porch step talking to one of her girlfriends. In her hand she held a red solo cup.

"Okay, new plan: Any of us wants to go, we all go, right?" I said.

"Right," we all said.

"Okay...let's do this." I said as we made our way up to the front of the house. Victoria and her friends looked up at us and regarded Will with an air of...I don't even know how to describe it. It was awkward, for sure.

"Victoria..." Will greeted stiffly.

"Will..." She returned smugly. A friend of hers sluggishly shot up in posture and stared at Will with cloudy eyes.

"OOH! Are-are youuuuu...Ausstralian?"

"Um, yes I am..." Will said quietly as he stared at his shoes.

"Is it true you ride Kangaroos everywhere?" Will scoffed loudly and looked back at us glumly.

"Let's go, I can't deal with this right now..." We followed him into the house and we took in our surroundings. To our left, in the living room, there were the jocks playing beer pong; Amongst them was Snotlout, but thankfully, he didn't see us. To our right, there were kids playing Seven Minutes of Heaven in the study, which for some random reason, had a wardrobe that looked like it came right out of Narnia. Down the hall and into the kitchen/dining room, we were thrown headlong into a sea of teens, and I suddenly felt claustrophobic.

"Astrid? Astrid, where are you?!" I said desperately as I looked around.

"I'm right here, babe...right here," Astrid said softly as she held my hand tighter and leaned into my ear. My chest calmed down and I hugged her.

"Good..."

"How are you feeling so far?"

"Okay...you?"

"No sign of Snotlout so far, so yes, I'm okay."

"Good." I kissed the side of her head, and before I pulled back I saw Will taking a picture of us.

"Uh...what are you doing?" I inquired.

"I'm sorry, but I just couldn't pass up this shot. Take a look." Will showed me the picture he took and the first thing I thought was...

"Wow." He had taken an extreme close up of me kissing Astrid in monochrome.

"You...you like it?"

"Yeah, it's beautiful." I said honestly.

"What's beautiful?" Astrid spun around and looked at the picture. "Wow, you have a good eye, Will."

"Would you guys like this?"

"Sure," I said.

"Cool, I'll send it to you guys when we get home...is that...?"

"_ALRIGHT EVERYONE, THANKS FOR COMING OUT! I AM FISHLEGS AND I WANNA SEE EVERYONE MOVING!" _

We pushed past the kids and walked into the massing crowd on the back lawn and the music blasted us right in our faces/ On a stage, behind a massive DJ rig and some keyboards, stood Freddy, working the crowd REALLY well. Lights flickered and flitted all over the dancers and the three of us were lost for words.

"...Freddy Ingerman, you son of a bitch..." I muttered. Here he was, fulfilling his childhood dream of DJ'ing.

"Boys, let's dance!" Astrid suddenly cried out and led us into the crowd. The bass drum started to thump and Will and I just started bobbing our heads to the beat.

"Oh, come on, you emus!" Astrid teased. "You can do better than that!" Will and I shrugged at each other and started to move our arms, eventually, we gave into the beat and really started enjoying ourselves. The three of us joined hands and spun in a circle like kids, laughing and bouncing. By the time the song had ended, Freddy had come out from behind his rig.

"OKAY, EVERYONE, THIS IS THE PART OF THE NIGHT WHERE I PICK OUT RANDOM PEOPLE IN THE CROWD TO SING FOR ME...HM...AHH...YOU, SIR!" He was pointing at me.

"Oh, uh-uh-onlyifhedoesitwithme!" I panicked as I looked at Will.

"What? Uh, no, uh..." Will said looking away from the stage.

"They'll do it!" Astrid shouted.

"WHAT?!" Will and I screamed.

"Come on, make me proud," Astrid grinned.

"Ughhhhhhhhh...Okay, let's get this over with, Will..."

"Alright then..."

"Take 'em down, babe!" I heard Astrid yell as Will and I climbed onto the stage. I looked out at the crowd from my spot on the stage and all I could feel was still, stony silence. Everyone started whispering to each other as they stared at me and I started to feel bad. I couldn't move and I felt so...neglected.

"Uh...Will, you choose the song..." I said quietly.

"Okay." I heard him whisper something to Freddy and I heard the drums thumping behind me. I looked at Will like a lost puppy. _What do I do? _I mouthed.

_We feel the music and feed off each other's energy._

_What?_

_Instincts!_

Will grabbed the mics resting on the desk and handed one to me. He fistbumped me, which gave me a little courage. Will took the lead, and did his own little dance to the song.

It's been so long, I've been out of my body with you  
I feel alone, feel at home, feel like nothing is true  
You take me to a place where my senses gave-way,   
Turn it round, shuttin' down, what the people say  
Climbing up, killin' time, let 'em give you some,   
Take my hand and let it come, let it come, let it

Take it back when she knows that your doing it right  
Cause everybody else knows what their taking tonight

But I just wanna play it right,  
We're gonna get there tonight

The song dropped back to the bass and drums, and Will looked at me, smiling and bobbing to the beat. He jerked his head to the front of the stage. I saw more people had come from out of the house to watch us. I looked down and saw Astrid watching me fondly with a gentle smile on her face. She nodded in encouragement, and I finally willed myself to move forward and sing.

**It's been so far I've been walking the line of my time**  
**Lift me up to the stars we are coming home**  
**I only had a chase but we're out of time**

**We have sold in the cold, physical desires**  
**Set me free, set me out on the run, **  
**lift me up to the sun, to the sun, to the**

**When your burning down, when your burning down, **  
**It's the way that you fake it, I know **  
**It's too late**

**But I just want to play it right**  
**We, were gonna get there tonight**  
**I just want to take you down**  
**We're gonna bring you round**

Will had joined in with me and as he mentioned earlier, we really started to feed off each other's energy. He and I were working the crowd really well and getting the hype going beautifully.

"Jump! Jump! Jump! Jump!"

**"Hands in the air! Let's go!"**

**But I just want to play it right**  
**We, were gonna get there tonight**

We finished the song to thunderous applause. I ended up with the biggest grin exploding off my face as I stared at everyone in awe.

"MAKE SOME FUCKING NOISE FOR HICCUP HADDOCK!" Will shouted, and more screaming followed.

"MAKE SOME NOISE FOR WILL STANLEY!" I shouted. I felt on top of the world. Will and I put the mics back on Freddy's desk, shared a quick hug and jumped off the stage, whereupon I landed in the arms of Astrid.

"You were amazing, I'm so proud of you," Astrid said as she buried her face in my shoulder.

"Heh, thank you...I feel a lot better..."

"Yeah?" Astrid asked as she looked up at me.

"Yeah," I smiled. "Hey, can we go inside? I really need a drink."

"Sure. Will, do you want a soda?"

"I would LOVE a soda."

We all went inside to the kitchen and rummaged in the tubs for drinks. There was only one can of Sprite left.

"You sure you're okay with driving us home in case we end up drinking?" Astrid asked as Will picked up the can.

"Guys, for the last time, don't worry! I love Sprite anyway."

"Okay, then." Astrid picked out two Raspberry Cruisers for us. The weakest of the bunch, but that was fine.

"Cheers!" We all said as we chinked our drinks together. We talked for about five minutes before Will had to go use the bathroom, leaving just Astrid and me in the living room on the couch.

"So...how's your first party?" Astrid asked.

"Definitely better than I was expecting, that's for sure," I smiled. Suddenly, we were approached by a couple of guys and girls our age.

"Hey, Hiccup, can we take a picture?" A boy with dreadlocks asked.

"Oh, sure!" I said, taken aback. I stood up and wiped my hands on my pants. I posed with them for the picture, they gave me some congratulations but before they all left, one of the girls held out to me a scrap of paper with a number on it.

"Call me," she said lowly. _Oh!_

"Uh, look...I...I think you're pretty but I have a girlfriend," I said as I sat back down next to Astrid and laced my fingers in-between hers.

_"You _have a girlfriend?" She scoffed.

"Yes," I said politely. "Is there a problem with that?"

"No, I...you know what? Forget it." She stalked off.

"You handled that really well," Astrid said sincerely.

"Huh, yeah I guess so!" I said happily. "Hey, I'm getting a little tired of this drink. I'm gonna look for water, can I get you anything?"

"Water actually would be very nice, thanks."

"I'll be right back." I squeezed her knee and pushed through the crowd to get to the kitchen. I spotted two tall glasses on a high bench and filled them up from a filtered tap on the side of the sink. As I turned around to return to Astrid, I looked in the far corner of the room and saw Will talking very closely to the guy with dreadlocks. Then, unexpectedly, Dreadlocks kissed Will full on the mouth. My eyes lit up in surprise and I smiled for Will. _Go get 'em, buddy._ I returned my focus to Astrid almost immediately after and found Snotlout standing over her, barely on his feet.

"What are _you _doing here?" Snotlout slurred.

"I'm here with Hiccup, not that that's any of your business," Astrid said stiffly.

"My cousin? Whare youuu doin' around a little Hiccup like him?"

"He's more a man than you'll ever be," Astrid raised her voice a little higher.

"HA! That's wherere you're wrong, Assssstrid...I-I was your first, and always will be!"

"NO!" Astrid suddenly yelled. The living room went quiet. Astrid looked over at me. _"Don't worry, I'm still here, too," _my eyes said. I surreptitiously approached her in case something happened. Astrid stood up and stared him down.

"Does everyone wanna know what a vile piece of shit this lout is?! I'm gonna set something straight from here on out: Snotlout and I _never did anything. _But...do you remember what you nearly did to me? Do you remember?!"

"A-Astrid, what are you talking about?" I asked nervously.

"USELESS! Way to show your puny face around here!"

"Leave him out of this Snotlout, this is between you and me!" Astrid warned. "This slime _attempted_ to force me last year." My chest gripped a tear threatened to fall down my cheek. _Something did happen..._

"...and If you ever come near me, touch me or any of my friends again I swear to the Gods I will cut your head off," Astrid threatened icily.

"Not before your father does the same to you," Snotlout said. _YOU BASTARD. _Astrid recoiled and her knee started twitching.

"No, no, I..." Astrid murmured. "Sh-shut up..."

"Snotlout, _walk away." _I said as I rooted myself right next to Astrid and glared into his muddy eyes.

"YOU...SHUT UP! It's only a matter of time before he finds you and breaks you down to the scared little bitch you are-" _SMACK! _Astrid threw him a wild punch to his jaw, which he unfortunately quickly recovered from.

"You're dead!" Snotlout slapped Astrid, and something inside me snapped...and I was just..._On him. _I had tackled him to the ground and tried throwing punches at him, but he used the momentum to flip us and started punching me in the face. Blood started to run down my nose as I heard it break.

"HICCUP!" I heard a male voice shout.

"STOP HITTING HIM!" Astrid screamed.

"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!" Then, a blur of black tackled Snotlout off of me and pinned him to the ground. Then, there was silence.

"You touch my friends again, _and I will end you." _Will threatened menacingly after he threw once punch across the face. He got off my pathetic excuse for a cousin, helped me up and led Astrid and I out of the house by the hand. Before we got in the car he turned around and hugged us both.

"Are you guys okay?" Will choked.

"Yeah."

"I'm fine...Will, you...thank you, you saved my ass." I said as I wiped my blood on my arm.

"No need to thank me...I'd do anything for you guys."

I withdrew and looked at Astrid.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah...but don't ever do that to me again, okay?! You scared me to death!" Astrid hit my chest and hugged me tightly.

"I'm sorry..."

Over Astrid's shoulder, I got a look at Will's face. He had been crying. Astrid let go of me and turned around.

"Will, what happened?" Astrid asked. "Are you upset about what happened?"

"No, it's not that, uh...a guy kissed me before the fight happened."

"Oh! And, you're not..."

"No, I...Hiccup, remember that story for another time I told you about today?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, that's it...I...uh...It was bound to come out at some point...I-I'm bi...I just got freaked out because that was my first...kiss with a guy..."

"Oh..." Astrid said.

"If you two don't want us hanging out anymore, then-"

"No, no, Will!" I stopped him. "It's okay. We accept you. You're our friend."

"Truly," Astrid backed me up. Will sadly nodded and hugged us again.

"I love you guys..."

"We love you too...Come on, I'll drive," I offered as I rubbed his arm.

"But, haven't you guys been drinking? And your nose-"

"I only had one sip," I shrugged. "I'll be okay."

"Alright then, if you're sure." He handed me my car keys and we all got in my Golf. Astrid sat in the back with Will and I drove us towards home in silence. We passed through town and slowed down at a red light in the main intersection. I looked over the seat.

"How is he?" I asked.

"He's alright," Astrid whispered as Will stared out the window, deep in thought. In front of me, the green light went, and I proceeded forward. Then, a light to my left got closer and closer.

"HICCUP, LOOK OUT!"

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**Like I asked, please don't hate me.**


	27. Chapter 27

Crushed glass. Fractured light. Blood...A lot of blood...why am I upside down? I turned my head to survey my surroundings but as soon as I moved I became aware of a stabbing pain in my ribs.

"Fuck...where am I?" I forced through my throat. I turned my head and saw a blonde figure upside down with me too. A familiar braid brought everything back to me. The car coming at us, and the loud bang before I blacked out.

"A...Astrid?" I reached out to her. She was unconscious.

"Hiccup? Henry, can you hear me?" I looked to the front of the car and saw his head resting on the armrest. I gotta get us out of here... I reached down to my hip and fumbled with the seat-belt. Once it had come loose, I dropped to the floor and felt a stray piece of glass slash near my left eye.

"G'AARRGH!" Everywhere ached. "Fuck...fuck...where's the door?" I repositioned myself to kick the door out. It'd cost me more jabs of pain but I needed to get them out...I promised them I would look after them...

"Okay...one...two...three!" I kicked the door once. It barely moved. Pain jolted up my chest. "Come on!" I kicked the door again. Just one more. On the third kick, it finally flew off the frame of the car.

"Okay..." I gingerly crawled out of the car whilst trying to nurse my bloody wounds. I limply stood up and saw that we had been hit side-on and rolled about 5 metres. To my left, there was the car that hit us. I struggled over to see if the driver was okay. In his passenger seat I saw an empty bottle in a paper bag. Drunk driver. He was probably dead. I went back to Hiccup's car and went around to the front passenger door. Falling onto my knees, I opened the door carefully. It didn't cost as much effort as my door, thank goodness, but what I saw nearly made me sick. The impact from the other car forced the panelling of the driver's side inward, and Hiccup's left leg from about halfway down his shin was trapped, mangled and crushed beyond recovery. Fresh tears welled up in my eyes and they fell.

"Don't you die on me...either of you..." I reached out and held Hiccup's wrist. There was still a pulse. _OH, THANK GOD._

I went further back to Astrid's door, opened it and worked out how I was going to get her out. I brushed some glass out from underneath her head, cradled her neck in the crook of my arm and counted down before I released the seat-belt. Astrid's dead-weight caught me off guard and I winced as I pulled her out of the car and put her in the recovery position. She was still breathing. I pulled out my mobile to call for help. The screen was too badly damaged. I grimaced and started taking panicked breaths as I tried to stave off the sobbing. and reached into Astrid's pocket for her phone. It was still working. Oh, thank god...I called immediately.

"911, what's your emergency?" A female voice answered.

"You-you-you have to help, there's been a-!" I was frantic.

"Calm down, what's your name and how old are you?"

"My...my name? My-my name is William Andrew Stanley, and I'm 17."

"Okay, William what's happened, sweetie?"

"I-I-I've been in a car accident with three of my friends...I think the other driver is dead...he-he had a bottle of alcohol in his car..." I screamed inwardly at the thought of someone being dead.

"Okay, take deep breaths...what are your friend's names?"

"Uh...Henry Hamish Haddock and Astrid Ingrid Hofferson. They're 17, too."

"Are Henry and Astrid conscious?"

"Uh, no...they're still alive, though...I managed to get Astrid out of the car but Hicc-Henry is stuck. His left leg is trapped."

"Okay, that was very brave of you to get Astrid out. I'm dispatching paramedics right away."

"Thank you...thank you...Uh, should I perform CPR?"

"No need for that, William. Just stay nearby and keep an eye on Astrid. I'll stay on the line with you until they arrive, okay?"

"Yeah...yeah, okay..."

"Can you tell me what you remember before the accident?"

"Uh...I remember the three of us crossing at a green light - Henry was driving - and...I saw the headlights zooming at us...I screamed...then, everything went black."

"Okay, so Henry had the right of way..."

"Yes..."

She kept asking me questions about the accident, but after a while she started asking me about me to take my mind of what was happening. 5 minutes later, blue and red lights danced on the asphalt.

"They're here..." I murmured.

"Okay, I'm gonna go now, but someone will be with you very soon, okay?

"Okay..."

"You've been very brave, William. Good luck." She was gone.

Then, I heard a feminine groan beside me, and Astrid slowly blinked her eyes.

"Astrid! Oh thank god, are you okay?!" I practically screamed as I helped her up.

"Ugh... what happened?" Astrid groaned. Then she saw the car, and Hiccup's silhouette was illuminated to us.

"HICCUP!"


	28. Chapter 28

**Hey gang. I understand this one is a bit short but this is the last update I'll be doing for a little while. School's nearly over and I need to focus on study for exams. Love you all for continuing to follow me as far as this story has gone.**

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I was in the waiting room of the ICU sitting in an uncomfortable chair next to Will. He ran his finger over the stitched scar above his eye, deep in thought. Hiccup was on the other side of some double doors to our right, hooked up to IV's and other manner of medical stuff. Luckily, Will and I only suffered a few fractured ribs and a cut here and there...Hiccup...Oh, my Gods...Will and I came in every day to see him but every time we were refused to visit in his room.

"It's been five days, Astrid," Will said, breaking the silence. "What if he doesn't wake up?"

"Hey, relax," I tried to say soothingly. "You said yourself; He was just unconscious...he's not gonna die." My insides clenched as soon as I said _die..._we could've lost him...I kept my face straight for Will's sake.

"I know, but..."

"Shh..." I whispered as I rubbed his back.

"I'm so sorry, Astrid. I should've been driving-"

"Don't say that-"

"I _promised _Mr and Mrs Haddock I would look after you, and now look at what's happened! I fucked up!" Will stood up with tears in his eyes. His voice grew in volume.

"Will, calm down-"

"NO I WON'T CALM DOWN! I let my emotions get the better of me that night and because I kissed some complete stranger, HICCUP IS LYING WHERE I SHOULD BE! THE ACCIDENT WAS ON ME, ASTR-"

_"WILL, SNAP OUT OF IT!"_

I slapped him across the cheek. He just stared at me, bewildered for about half a minute. Then, his shoulders shook and the sobs came quietly. He hid his face in my shoulder and I hugged him.

"That night wasn't on you, Will; It was on that bastard who ran us down." The paramedics were able to revive the other driver, but he's going on trial in a few weeks. "It isn't your fault Hiccup is in that ward right now...if anything, I should be thanking you...you did save us, you know?"

"Yeah?" His muffled voice asked.

"Of course! You got me out, you made sure Hiccup was alive and you called 911, and I can't thank you enough for that."

"Heh...hey, what's family for?"

"What?" I did a double take.

"You guys are my family. I'd do it all again in a heartbeat." He gave me a squeeze in his arms and I crushed him back as best I could.

"You know...I think you might be the only other guy in town with his head screwed on properly." I wondered aloud.

"Interesting compliment," Will snorted.

"You know what I mean...he's grateful, you know...Hiccup. When we stopped talking last year, he didn't have one male friend who wouldn't call him names, shove his face into a locker door or beat the crap out of him...you've been his gods'-send, Will."

"Really?"

"Mm-hm. He talks about you all the time; Always wondering how you're going at work, or...telling me about one of your song ideas."

"Does it make things boring in conversation?" I laughed a genuine laugh at that.

"Just a little," I teased. "But like I said, he's grateful you've been as good a friend as any to him, and so am I. He's needed this for so long, and it's rare for a girl like me to hold a genuine conversation with any of the 90% of the Male population at my school..."

"So that's all I am to you?" Will asked, sounding a little hurt. "A good conversationalist?" I withdrew and looked at him.

"No-no-no-!" He had the beginnings of a shit-eating grin on his face.

"Only teasing." I punched his arm. "Ow!"

"Bloody Aussies, you have a sick sense of humour...seriously, I'm really glad we're friends..." Will shook his head.

"We're family; We look out for each other." I nodded in agreement and hugged Will again, but immediately let go when an African American doctor approached us. She had beautiful curly hair that reminded me of Lena from The Fosters and warm, chocolatey eyes.

"Astrid and William?" She asked. Her badge said "DR. CLARK.

"Uh-huh?"

"Yeah?"

"Henry's been stirring in his sleep a little more now...there's a chance he might wake up soon. If you would like to see him, please follow me." We were FINALLY getting to see him. Will and I exchanged excited glances and followed her through the double doors to Hiccup's room. I was sorely tempted to cry right then and there. There were needles going in and out of his arm and he was hooked up to a cannula. There was a fresh bandage on his forehead that covered what I guessed was a massive gash. I hated seeing him like this. If I ever came across the fucker who drove the other car, I'm gonna-

"Hey, I've gotta duck off and quickly do a wee, will you be okay?" Will asked.

"Yeah, yeah of course," I murmured as I continued to stare at Hiccup. I heard him step out and receive directions to the bathroom down the hall. I pulled up a chair next to his bed and took his hand.

"Hey...well, we...finally got to see you," I began. "Will's here, he's just gone to use the bathroom...um...it still hasn't really sunken in that we could've lost you, actually...what a bitch I must be, huh?" I nervously chuckled. "Where-where are my emotions at, hey? I know, I'm not funny...so...the doctor says that you're gonna wake up soon...that's...I don't think I've ever felt so relieved as I did a few minutes ago...in the back of my head , the fact that you-you...m-m-might've...you're my whole world...and...I-I..." I rested my head gingerly on his belly and started crying.

"I love you more than anything..." I sobbed. "Please don't go...don't ever go..."

"N...not going...anywhere...promise." My head snapped up and saw a faint sparkle in those green eyes, which were just open.

I hiccupped.


	29. Chapter 29

**hey gang! I've got a whole week break during exams so I figured I may as well pump something out. Oh, and I turned 18 on halloween! I'm an evil adult now mwahaha**

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"...Don't go...don't ever go..." I could hear Astrid's voice, but it seemed so far away. My eyes opened ever so slightly and I was blinded by the brilliance of white light. Once the glare had settled, I saw Astrid crying into my belly. Why was she upset? Did she think I was gonna leave her?

"I'm not going...anywhere...promise," I struggled through my teeth. Wait, _struggled? _Only then did I realise how much pain I was in. What happened to me? Astrid's head shot up and looked at me. Then she hiccupped.

"That would be me," I croakily quipped. She nervously laughed.

"Thank Gods, Thank Gods, Thank Gods!" Astrid sat up and wrapped her arms around me tightly as she hid her face in my neck, fresh tears falling. I winced at her pressure around my tender ribs but hugged her back gingerly. Then she composed herself again and unwound her arms.

"Sorry, sorry...forgot about your ribs." I shook my head.

"Don't worry about it...where are we, Astrid?" I asked.

"We're...ahem, we're in the hospital," she told me as she wiped her tears on the cuff of her sleeve. My eyes shot open in alarm.

"The hospital? Why?"

"You don't remember?"

"Remember what?"

She stared at me incredulously.

"Hiccup...you don't remember the-"

"Hiccup! You're awake!" A familiar voice behind Astrid cried. Will entered the room briskly and walked around to the side of the bed opposite Astrid.

"God, you gave us a right good scare there, mate," Will nervously chuckled as he placed his hand on my forearm. "How are you feeling?"

"I don't even know what's happened...Will, you're hurt!" I said as I noticed the stitches above his left eye.

"Oh, don't worry about that; They'll dissolve real soon...I'm more worried about you!"

"Well, my ribs hurt and the bandage on my forehead tells me something happened up there."

"Anything else?" Will asked.

"No, that's the only pain I feel...why?" Then, Will looked at Astrid and by the flaring of her nostrils and shift in her eyebrows, it looked like they were having a silent conversation.

"Henry," Astrid said lowly. "There's no easy way to say this, but-"

"Henry! Good to see you're finally awake," a doctor said in the doorway. Funny, if I didn't know any better, she looks exactly like Lena from the Fosters.

"Hello, Doctor...Clark," I said as I made out her name-tag.

"Hey, I'm gonna duck out again and let your parents know you're up, okay?" Will informed. I nodded and he went out the door, pulling out his phone as he walked. "Hello, Valka? ...Yes, he's..."

"I assume you're wondering why you are here?" Dr. Clark called her attention back to me.

"Very much so! What happened?"

"Well, five days ago, you, Astrid and William were driving home from a party, and when you crossed at a green light, your car was hit side-on by an intoxicated driver." Oh, my Gods! So _that's _why Will had those stitches!

"Oh..." was all I could say.

"William managed to get himself and Astrid out of the car, but there was no way for him to get you out."

"How come?" I interrupted.

"Well...when the other car crashed into your car, it forced the panelling on the driver's side to go inwards, and your left leg was trapped. We had paramedics and the fire brigade get you out with the jaws of life, but..." She trailed off.

"But what?" I asked quietly.

"...Your lower leg was unsalvageable, and they had no choice but to amputate. I'm very very sorry."

Amputate? What? ...Then for some reason, which I still can't fathom to this day, I started laughing. Astrid and Dr. Clark look distressed when they heard me laugh.

"That can't be right! My leg is fine! I can still feel it! Look!" I sat up and looked down at my feet. I leaned forward and reached out to my left foot, expecting to feel the lumpy ridges, but all my hand did was sink further down into the sheets, and "through" my foot...what the?! Then, my stomach sank deeper than the Marianas Trench, and I started shaking. It was gone! No...no, it couldn't be!

"What you're experiencing is called phantom sensation," Dr. Clark explained. "Most amputees can still feel their limbs even when they're not there. Are you feeling any other forms of pain?"

"...No..." I felt nothing. Absolutely nothing.

"I hate to ask this after breaking the news, but may I check your leg for any signs of infection?"

I sighed deeply through my nose and maintained my eye contact with my missing foot as I nodded. Something in my nothingness stirred and was developing into something I hadn't really felt in forever; Anger. As Dr Clark moved around to the side of the bed Will was on, Astrid's hand slid into mine and she leaned into my ear.

"You don't have to look, if you don't wa-"

"ASTRID!" I suddenly snapped as my head swung to face her. Her hand immediately withdrew from mine and she stepped away.

"Okay..." Then I felt even worse as my anger immediately changed into remorse. That was the first time I had yelled at her. I looked down and noticed that her knee started twitching. Oh, Gods, I must've-

"A-Astrid?" I asked nervously. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to yell-"

"I have to go." And with that, she turned on her heel and walked out of the room. Then the dam broke and I cried for the second time in one week. How pathetic I must've looked.

"Well, your leg is healing nicely," Dr Clark said awkwardly as she drew the sheet back up my legs..._leg._

"Is she your girlfriend?" Dr Clark asked, probably to change the subject. I nodded glumly.

"Yeah...I'm not really used to that title, yet, though."

"How so?"

"I just...I don't deserve her. I've never deserved her...and then I went ahead and yelled at her and probably triggered something...Gods, I'm such an idiot!"

"Now, now, don't say that. I've seen her every time she's come in this week asking to see you. It's pretty clear that she loves you, Henry. And you're not an idiot. It's perfectly normal to react the way you have to the kind of news you've just received. Don't worry, she'll come around."

"I hope so...without her, I'm nothing."

* * *

**I tried to write some feels in this chapter...not sure if I nailed it though. Glad to be back.**


	30. Chapter 30

"Hm...well, I think you're okay for the moment. I'll report back to the other doctors and come back soon, okay?"

Still speechless, I nodded numbly and Doctor Clark took her leave. I stared endlessly at what used to be my foot...it was gone, and it was never coming back. I was now officially less of what I should've been, and the idea of that hurt so much. I wouldn't be enough for Astrid...what am I saying? After what just happened, she probably won't want me ever again. I couldn't do anything else but sigh in defeat, lean back into my pillows and wipe away the tears on my face with my wrist. I heard a quiet knock on the door. I didn't look up.

"Who is it?" I asked glumly.

"It's me." Will.

"Oh, okay..."

"I got off the phone about five minutes ago. Your Mum and Dad should be in the parking lot by now...are you okay? I heard a yell and Astrid walked out of the waiting room."

"Yeah...that was me...I don't know why, but I just snapped, and now she's probably panicking because I possibly reminded her of her father."

"What?"

"It's a sign I picked up from her; Whenever she stresses, particularly about her dad, her knee twitches."

"Oh, _that's_ why she..."

"Yeah..." Will walked around to his side of the bed and quickly squeezed my hand.

"Don't worry, Hiccup. She'll come around."

"...I need to apologise to her."

"Well, you're in luck. She's still here, just not in the building." Will smiled reassuringly. "I spied her outside sitting under a tree. Maybe she'll come back inside when your Mum and Dad get here...speak of the devil!" Will glanced toward the door and saw my parents. They rushed to my side.

"Oh, my boy..."

"Son..."

"Mum! Dad!"

"How are you feeling?" Mum asked.

"Super," I remarked dryly.

"Don't be fooling around, Hiccup," Dad said firmly. "We could've lost you..."

"But the important thing is you're still here," Mum said to calm things down, I suppose. "How is your leg?"

"I haven't seen it, but the doctor says it okay."

"Are you hurting, son?" Dad asked.

"Oh, not as much as when I woke up, but everything still kinda hurts." _Especially my heart._

"Is Astrid okay?" I asked.

"She walked back inside when we arrived but she didn't bother talking to us...what's going on?"

"I...kinda yelled at her," I confessed.

"What? Why?" Mum asked.

"I don't even know...I was just frightened, and angry, and...I-I-I..." I buried my face in my hands.

"It's okay, son," Mum said as she rubbed my back carefully.

"I need to see her," I said as I suddenly sat up.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Hiccup," Dad said as he tried to push me back down onto my pillows. "I don't think you're fit to go anywhere."

"Watch me!"

Just as I sat up even more Doctor Clark came back in.

"Hey guys, I'm sorry but you'll have to scoot, okay?"

"Yeah, of course, doc," Will said. He squeezed my hand again and walked out the door.

"Try and get some sleep, okay?" Mum said as she kissed my forehead.

"I will." Everybody got up and left and I tried to shut my eyes for a bit but I couldn't rest without knowing where Astrid and I stood. Looking around, I spotted a wheelchair near where Mum was kneeling before. I reached out as far as I could without hurting myself, and my fingers grazed the armrest. Risking a little more pain, I took out the IV injected into my arm and I leaned forward a little more so I could get my whole hand to grab the armrest, and carefully pulled it towards me. Once I got it in the right position, I reached behind me looking for the bed remote. I found it pretty quickly and make fast work of lowering the bed so I didn't have to fall and hurt myself anymore. I was already hurting but if it meant patching things up with Astrid, it was more than worth it. Once the bed stopped whirring, I sat myself up and reached again but this time for both sides of the wheelchair. I wiggled my butt on the mattress so I'd end up closer to the edge of the bed. With a huge effort, and several deep breaths later, I jumped into the seat of the wheelchair, whilst staving off pained groans as best I could. I gingerly rearranged my legs so they wouldn't hurt so much when I moved. I grabbed hold of both wheels and once I seemed to get the maneuvering downpat, I made my way towards the door. I opened it a crack and peered through, seeing if there were any doctors in the hallway. All clear. I swung the door open even more and quietly wheeled my way into the hall and towards the double doors on my right. The footrests of the wheelchair opened the door for me, and I opened the door to a near empty room. Through another door on the other side of the room, I heard my family talking to some doctors with Will, and right in front of me, head to the floor, was Astrid. Her knee had settled from twitching, but only slightly. I slowly wheeled toward her, and came to a stop when my knees touched hers. I was directly in her line of sight. We couldn't look anywhere else if we wanted.

"Astrid?" I whispered.

"Hiccup? What are you doing out here?" Astrid huskily whispered back as she looked at me incredulously.

"I needed to see you...can we talk?"

"Yeah."

"Okay...I'm so sorry I yelled at you...I never, _never _meant to scare you...you know that, right?"

"Yeah...I'm sorry, too, Hiccup...my dad, he...he was the only one who was ever that loud around me, and I got frightened-"

"No, no don't apologise, Astrid! It was me who-"

"Hiccup...let's not blame each other right now...the important thing is, we're okay...we're okay, aren't we?"

"Of course, of course we are! We're more than okay, Astrid...I've already lost my leg, but I'm not gonna lose you...I _can't_ do this without you, Astrid...right after you were gone, I...I only thought about nothing and felt nothing, and I was worried that all I'd know from now on is just that...nothing. But with you, you make my life worth living...that's why I need you, and that's why I love you."

Astrid, speechless, looked at me adoringly and tried to hide a tear that was forming. She gently cupped my face, tilted it down and kissed my forehead, softly &amp; slowly. When she tilted my head back up we leaned forward, our noses and foreheads touching as a proverbial green forest was washed away by a proverbial tsunami of blue.

"I love you, and I'll be with you, Hiccup...'til the very end." I beamed at her.

"...'Til the very end," I affirmed as I held her hand.


	31. Chapter 31

**Hey gang! Glad to be back. School's done and dusted forever so I**'**m itching to write some stuff! LET'S DO IT!**

* * *

After holding each other for what seemed like eternity, we were pulled back to reality by a feminine voice.

"Now, either I'm hearing things or Astrid just proposed."

My eyes snapped open and saw Carol looking at us and thoughtfully stroking her chin.

"Wait, what?" Astrid said as we carefully let go of each other. "No, no I-I wasn't-"

"Relax, Astrid!" Carol laughed. "I'm just kidding." Astrid looked back at me, bewildered, and I couldn't help but flash her my goofy grin she loved, but she glowered at me in response.

"Hey, you DID say till the very end," I shrugged. She rolled her eyes and pretended to hit the top of my head while making a _hwi-tsssh! _sound with her mouth.

"Oh, quiet you!"

"Yes, ma'am," I mock saluted.

"Now, lets get you back to your room before anyone notices." Astrid said as she stood up and wheeled me back to my room. I threw one glance behind me and saw Will standing guard for us at the waiting room door. He threw me a wink, I gave him the thumbs up and the doors shut behind us.

"Need a hand?" Astrid asked as we got to the edge of the bed.

"Nah, I got it," I struggled as I stood on one leg and flopped back on the bed. Once I was re-covered, Astrid sat down.

"Astrid?" I asked timidly.

"Yeah?"

"Would that be what you want, when the time is right?" I asked. She stared at me and thought for a long time, but as she was about to say something, the door opened.

"Ah, Henry!" Doctor Clark greeted as she returned. "I have good news. We'll be able to get you up and walking on your own sooner than I originally predicted. We've got a prosthetist coming in real soon and he's gonna take a plaster mould of your stump so your new leg will fit perfectly."

"Oh, great! How long do you think it'll take before it's finished?"

"Probably one week, at most, but until then, you'll have to get around on crutches once we've discharged you."

"No biggie! I've actually wanted to give crutches a shot!"

* * *

"I'm SICK of crutches!" I groaned miserably as I sat in the waiting room of the prosthetist's clinic. I was discharged one day after Astrid "proposed" to me, as Carol called it...I don't think we were ever gonna hear the end of it, to be honest...and it had been 6 days since. My armpits were killing me.

"Mate, relax, okay?" Will consoled as he rubbed my back. It was just him and I because Astrid was at work and so were Mum and Dad. "Once we've got your new leg, we'll burn those bastards so bad, they'll look like melted Gronckle vomit, how about that?"

"Gladly!"

"Mr Haddock, he'll see you now," the receptionist called out.

"Alright, you all good?" Will asked me.

"Uh-huh," I said as I propped myself up on my crutches. I hobbled over to the exam room and Will opened the door for me whilst holding onto my bag.

"Henry, come in!" The prosthetist greeted warmly. "How is it feeling today?"

"Not as sore as yesterday, I guess," I replied as Will and I took a seat each.

"Ah, good to hear. Now, there's really no point in me beating around the bush. I'm sure you're very eager." He turned around in his chair and produced from a box-

"Your new leg!" I stared in quiet awe. You could hear a pin drop, it was _that _quiet. The plastic socket, where my stump goes, was finished with a layer of carbon fibre that looked pretty cool. Extending away from it, the metal pylon which would keep me upright, and finally, the imitation bare foot.

"So, as you can see, for now, I've just fitted you out with the basics, but as you grow and you feel some changes need to be made, we'll be able to address them when said changes need adjusting. For example, if you decided you wanted to take up running, we could fit you out with a prosthetic like this." He produced and showed Will and I an old leg, but instead of having a foot, it had a running blade design almost in the shape of a C. "So...you ready to try it out?"

"Yeah!" I said eagerly. The prosthetist approached us and showed me how to put the leg on. Once it was attached, I couldn't help but stare again as I let it hover. I'm gonna walk again!

"Okay, now I wanna see if you can stand up for me?" He asked.

"Okay, uh..." I swung my leg down slowly and put weight on the prosthetic. Gods, it felt so STRANGE. I reached down next to my chair and pulled from my bag my other sock and other shoe to match my right foot.

"Ah, you planned ahead! Good boy," the prosthetist commended. He gave me a hand putting on my shoe and sock and finally, it was time to get up. I gripped onto both armrests of my chair, and slowly pushed myself up...I was standing...I WAS STANDING! I couldn't help but laugh giddily. My confidence got the better of me though, and I tried to take a step, but stumbled. Will caught me just in time and put my arm around his shoulder.

"Upsie-daisy."

"Thanks," I sighed.

"Okay, very good!" The prosthetist said. "Now, see those parallel bars over there?" He pointed to the other side of the room.

"Yup?"

"Try walking over to them. Will, was it?"

"Yes, sir?" Will responded.

"Just try holding onto Henry's arm for now. I wanna see if he can walk without _too _much help."

"Oh, sure." Will unwound my arm from his neck but kept a reassuring hold on my wrist.

"Okay, you ready?" Will asked.

"Yeah, lets do it."

I led with my right foot, and stood still after one step. I transferred some of my weight onto Will's grip and gingerly swung my left leg forward. It landed on the ground with only a tiny wobble. My heart tugged in joy a little bit. I took another step, and another...and another...and finally I was at one end of the parallel bars.

"Great job! Now, try walking between the bars, going back and forth a couple of times, and see if you can try and walk without holding onto them." The prosthetist suggested. I nodded confidently and grabbed onto the bars once Will let go of me. I went back and forth on the bars a few times, and on my fifth go, I didn't even need the bars! I walked through the confines of the poles and over towards Will and the prosthetist, never breaking my stride. Will was beaming at me and the prosthetist was nodding enthusiastically.

"I gotta say, I've never had a patient pick up walking again that quickly! Truly remarkable..." We did a couple more exercises until it was time for me to head home, leaving the crutches behind.

"Ah, that feels SO GOOD!" I cried as I rubbed under my arms when we exited the clinic. Will stifled a giggle.

"Thought you'd be more thrilled about walking again, Hiccup."

"Oh yeah, there's that too, but NO MORE CRUTCHES!" I jokingly exclaimed.

"Come on, let's get you home."

* * *

**He's walking again! Expect to see some pillow talk next chapter.**


	32. Chapter 32

**Hey gang. Hope all your Snoggletog's were awesome. Here's another just in time for New Years Eve. Happy holidays! Song was written by James Keogh aka Vance Joy. **

* * *

"Oh! Almost forgot!" Will said as he reached into the backseat of his car. From the floor behind my seat, he produced a lacquered mahogany cane with a hand carved head modelled after Dragon-Stormfly.

"Made this for you!" He held it out to me and I took it tentatively.

"A walking stick?" I questioned.

"It's just until you get 100% used to the different mobility. Plus you can whack any arseholes that give you hell, and the Stormfly handle makes it look badass."

"Huh, I suppose. Thanks Will!"

"Don't mention it...okay, you ready to roll?"

"Yup!" I nodded as I locked in my seat belt.

* * *

We pulled into my driveway at around four and Will helped me out of the car.

"Okay, just nice and easy," I said aloud as I stood up again on my leg. I placed my stick on the ground and applied my weight to it.

"Nice and sturdy," I said. "Did you take shop class back home?"

"A little, yeah," Will replied. "Okay, think you can make it to the front door?"

"Yeah, should be easy." I said. Sure enough, apart from one slight fumble, I made it to the front door with no trouble and walked inside.

"Mum, we're back!" I yelled out. She emerged from the kitchen with Cloudjumper on her arm.

"Son! You're walking!" She increased her pace and hugged me with her free arm when I made it down the steps. I tickled Cloudjumper's breast and he hooted merrily.

"Heheh, sort of. Will made me a third leg for a little while."

"Wow, its beautiful! So, let's have a look, shall we?"

"Oh, sure!"

Will shut the front door behind us and followed us over to the living room where I sat down and rolled up the left leg of my pants. As Mum placed Cloudjumper on an indoor perch, she eyed the prosthetic curiously and admiringly.

"Incredible...how does it feel?"

"A little weird, to be honest, but I'm moving around and that's the important thing," I smiled. In my peripheral vision I saw Toothless bolt towards me from the stairs. He jumped up excitedly onto the couch and nuzzled me like there wasn't any fish left in the world.

"Haha, did you miss me, bud?" _Mrrow!_

"What do you think?" I lifted my leg a little to catch his attention, and he sniffed it curiously. Then looked up at me and bumped his head against my chest.

"Yep, it's still me," I said as I scratched his chin. I looked up at Will.

"Jam time?" I suggested. His eyes lit up.

"Jam time."

We made our way upstairs and I settled into my seat.

"Ahhhh, Gods I missed this..." I sighed.

"Me too...what do you wanna play?" He asked as he picked up his sticks off the floor.

"Uh...oh, I know."

**Talking like we used to do**  
**It was always me and you**  
**Shaping up and shipping out**  
**Check me in and check me out**

**Do you like walking in the rain?**  
**When you think of love, do you think of pain?**  
**You can tell me what you see**  
**I will choose what I believe**

**Hold on, darling**  
**This body is yours,**  
**This body is yours and mine**  
**Well hold on, my darling**  
**This mess was yours,**  
**Now your mess is mine**

**Ah, ooooooooooooooooooooooooooh**

**Your mess is mine**

**See you in the marketplace**  
**Walking 'round at 8am**  
**Got 2 hours before my flight**  
**Luck be on my side tonight**

**You're the reason that I feel so strong**  
**The reason that I'm hanging on**  
**You know you gave me all the time**  
**Or did I give enough of mine?**

**Hold on, darling**  
**This body is yours,**  
**This body is yours and mine**  
**Well hold on, my darling**  
**This mess was yours,**  
**Now your mess is mine**  
**Ooooooooooooooh**  
**Now your mess is mine**  
**Ooooooooooooooh**  
**Your mess is mine**

**Bring me to your house**  
**And tell me "sorry for the mess"**  
**Hey, I don't mind**  
**You're talking in your sleep**  
**All the time**  
**Well, you still make sense to me**  
**Your mess is mine**

**Ah, ooooooooooooooooooh**

**Oooooooooooooooooooooh**

**Your mess is mine**  
**This body's yours and this body's mine**

**Oooooooooooooooooooooh**

**Your mess is mine**

**Your mess is mine.**

* * *

A few hours had passed before Astrid finally came by for dinner at 7. Will had gone home before hand so it was just the four of us for dinner.

"So, hows my trooper?" Astrid asked as she tousled my hair and sat beside me on the living room couch.

"Hey!" I pecked her cheek in greeting. "It's going really good! Not _completely_ used to it, but getting there, you know?"

"That's great!" Astrid smiled.

"Yeah! How was work?"

"Not bad. We actually had a good sale today. A guy came in and bought a Wal bass because he's now in a Tool cover band."

"Gee, that would've set him back a few grand...hey, I love Tool! Can you play Schism?"

"Are you kidding? That's like the first thing I learned when I first picked up a bass."

"Wow!"

"Hey kids!" Mum called out from the kitchen. "I just got off the phone to work, and there's been another bird emergency. Will you be alright for a couple of hours?"

"Yeah!"

"Okay!"

"No funny business, though, okay?" Mum warned.

"AAAAAHLALALALALALAAAAAAA!" I cried as I put my hands over my ears. Astrid couldn't help but giggle.

"Good. Bye!" I heard her yell out. I removed my hands from my ears and placed them over my eyes.

"Ah, Gods, that's the first time she's said anything like that and it's so embarrassing..."

"Maybe she didn't mean..._that, _Hiccup."

"Of course she did! What else would she be talking about?"

"Come on." Astrid led me by the hand into the kitchen, where a pot of her meatballs were still simmering on the stove.

"What's Mum's meatballs got to do with this?" I asked as I adjusted my grip on my walking stick.

"Hiccup, you and I both know her meatballs could kill more beasts than a battle-axe ever could, and she pretty much has no idea how bad her cooking is, so the way I see it, we need to resurrect these, or throw them out and make something entirely different."

"Ah, no we are NOT wasting any food...well let's see what she's done wrong this time."

I took a spoon from out of the cutlery drawer and tasted the meatballs. The sauce tasted like there was dirt in it. The meatballs, however, weren't tainted.

"Eaugh! How many vegetables did she put in this? Here, you try." I gave Astrid the spoon and she reacted much the same.

"Who puts zucchini in meatball sauce? Not to mention UNWASHED zucchini. Gods, that dirt is awful..."

"Uh huh," I agreed. "Strain the sauce, put it aside and make a fresh batch?"

"Let's do this, El Capitano!" Astrid fist bumped me and we got to work. We carefully drained the tomato sauce into a tupperware container and put it in the freezer.

"Might be able to salvage it for a vegetable soup or something," I shrugged as I shut the freezer door. I dug around the pantry and found an unopened jar of Passata and some dried herbs, while Astrid got some garlic and to my surprise, chilli from the fruit bowl.

"Chilli? Really?" I questioned.

"Why not? It tastes great!"

"Touche, milady."

We got the sauce up to volume and swiped a bottle of red wine from Dad's cellar under the stairs. All we had to do was boil the pasta and-

* * *

"OH MY GODS, THIS WAS AMAZING..." Astrid and I said in unison after we finished our dinner. We were sitting on bar stools at the kitchen island and cracked up laughing at our impeccable timing.

"Want a glass?" I offered as I gestured to the wine bottle. We used some of it to add to the sauce but I thought "what the hell?"

"Sure, why not?" Astrid said as she threw her hands in the air. I grabbed two glasses from the overheard cupboard and filled them to the standard capacity. I handed Astrid her glass and she raised it as I sat back down.

"To Hiccup, the bravest, most badass and beautiful boyfriend." She toasted. I blushed and raised my own glass.

"To Astrid...my love...my life...and let's see, how can I one up your alliteration...awesome, astounding, and actually an amazing-" She put a finger to my lips to stop me.

"Shut up and kiss me already, you silver-tongued muttonhead." She tangled her fingers in my hair and bridged the gap promptly. I grabbed the edge of her stool and pulled her closer to me so we didn't have to crane our necks too much. Once we were comfortable I placed my hands on her hips and squeezed gently. Astrid moved her hands from my hair to my face, and she fingered the stubble that I didn't even notice was there until she stroked my cheek.

"Hey, weird question, but, um...could I shave you?" Astrid asked.

"Why?" I asked simply. That came out of nowhere...

"Just something I always wanted to try!"

"Shaving a guy's face?"

"Yeah!"

"Huh...well..."

"You trust me, right?"

"Of course I trust you, Astrid! I'd lay down my life for you, but, shaving just appeared out of the blue, that's all."

"Think about it! Moneypenny shaved Bond in Skyfall and it was sexy as hell...I thought we could try it? And you did say yourself, _I am the romantic type," _she finished in her impression of me. I pretended to facepalm myself and went along with it.

"A truly flattering impersonation, on your part, milady...you're right, I did say that...ah, what the hell? It could be fun!"

"Oh, great!" Astrid's face lit up. I took her by the hand and led her up through my bedroom and into my bathroom.

"Okay, take it off," Astrid said, straight to the point.

"Uh, Astrid I know you find me very appealing to look at, but I'll leave my pants on-"

"Your shirt, you pervert," she snickered, catching on that I was teasing. I leaned my walking stick against the wall, shrugged out of my green tee and it flopped onto the floor.

"You're staring," I pointed out. Astrid shook her head and scrunched up her eyes.

"Uh, sorry," she chuckled nervously.

"_Mm-hm,_ sure you are," I deadpanned. I turned to the sink, filled the basin with hot water and splashed some of it on my face. When I looked up, I saw that Astrid had taken her shirt off and was only wearing a bra and a pair of shorts. Probably just in case she made a mess. My thoughts and feelings I experienced when we made out in our towels came back to me, but this time I didn't feel as anxious. I felt...turned on a little, if that's what you call it.

"_You're _staring," Astrid teased.

"Oh! U-uh, okay, where's the..." I muttered out loud as I looked in the bathroom cupboard under the basin for the cream. I handed the can to Astrid.

"Wanna do the honours?" I asked.

"Sure," she took it and applied a small amount of cream to the tips of her fingers.

"And just all over your face and neck?" She asked.

"Pretty much!" I shrugged. She gingerly smoothed the cream out across my cheeks, mouth and the front of my neck. I was watching her intently and at the moment she was supposed to be done, I saw a wicked gleam in her eyes, but I was too late. She took the words "all over your face" the wrong way and slapped the leftover cream on her palm all over my forehead and over my eyes. She laughed gleefully.

"Oh, _har-di-har," _I moaned. I took the fresh blob over the top half of my face and slapped it on Astrid's.

"Vengeance _is _sweet," I said, imitating Severus Snape. I giggled a moment and handed her a wet face-washer from inside my shower. "Here." Astrid cleaned herself up and found the razor in the toothbrush cup next to the sink.

"Okay, I shave my legs, so this shouldn't be too different," Astrid said to herself. "You trust me, right?"

"Of course," I nodded. And what followed was probably the most intimate moment we shared together. Neither of us said a word. I looked into her eyes the whole time, and amidst the fleeting touches we gave each other during the process, she didn't nick me at all.

"There," Astrid whispered when she took away the last of the shaving cream. I rinsed my face with some fresh water and dried my face on a towel while Astrid pulled the plug. I walked back to the sink from the towel rail and ran my fingers over my face.

"That's better," I said. I don't like the feeling of facial fair. "Thank you," I said to Astrid as I pulled her into a hug. As we loosened our grip on each other we looked into the mirror.

"Heheh, look at us," I chuckled.

"Hm..." Astrid smiled. Then, she moved her hands around to my ribs and tickled me again, making me jump up in the air with a yelp.

"Okay, that's it!" I said. I grabbed Astrid around her middle and threw her over my shoulder, tickling her ribs while hanging onto her.

"HAHA, HIC-STOP-HAHAHA-STAAAAHAHAHA!" Astrid was trying to wriggle out of my grip while I walked us back into my room. I forgot I didn't have my stick with me, so I stumbled when I reached the foot of my bed. Astrid and I fell onto my comforter next to each other with an uproar of laughter. Our laughter died down into silence again as we just stared at and held onto each other. It was early, maybe around 8:30, but we just fell asleep like that, more of our skin in contact but in the most innocent sense. If I could stay like that forever, I'd jump at the chance. I felt loved, but most of all, I felt safe.

* * *

**YAY FOR FLUFF! Still more to come. For those who are wondering, the story will finish around 10-12 years into the future of the story timeline, so don't worry! I'm still committed to this.**


	33. Chapter 33

**EVERYONE, I am SO sorry for not updating sooner. Life got in the way and I am now a Uni student studying music. This is the chapter I mentioned would take a long time to finish because I wanted it to be perfect, on top of my adjustment to adulthood. I AM BACK BABY! Okay, time for our lovers to lose something they've both been carrying for a while.**

* * *

I woke up a few hours later. It was well and truly dark outside. I was on my back with my head on Astrid's belly, which softly rose and fell with every breath she took. I noticed she had her fingers tangled in my hair. Maybe she fell asleep ruffling it. I smiled at the thought. Trying not to wake her, I sat up slowly onto my knees and glanced over at my alarm clock. 23:00. Huh, we were only asleep for a little while...some light from the hallway filtered through the crack underneath my door and I could hear Mum and Dad talking from downstairs. It sounded like they were having a late dinner.

"Val...these meatballs are delicious! You've really outdone yourself, haven't you?"

"You're being unusually enthusiastic, Stoick."

I stifled a giggle coming out of my nose and my body shook with silent laughter. Then it immediately stopped when I felt Astrid stir and sit up behind me.

"Hey babe," Astrid yawned as she wrapped her arms around my torso. I leaned back into her and nuzzled my cheek against hers.

"Hey, sorry if I woke you."

"It's alright...what time is it?"

"Eleven...oh, shoot, does your Mum know you're still here?" I asked as I crawled towards the nightstand and switched on the lamp.

"Yeah, she...heh, funny story, she actually took me aside at dinner a few nights ago and she practically allowed me to stay over here whenever I wanted."

"Oh, fantastic!" My eyes wandered down to my feet. "Oh, my shoes are still on." I hiked my feet closer to me and took off my right Converse and sock, but had trouble with my left. I felt my leg come a bit loose every time I tried to get my shoe off.

"Astrid, can you give me a hand with this?" I asked.

"Yeah, sure." I held onto my leg while Astrid crawled over to the end of the bed and tried pulling off my shoe. It became a tug of war pretty quickly as I had to pull harder and harder to keep my leg on. Eventually, I threw up my hands in frustration.

"May as well just take the whole leg off," I sighed. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and my fingers hovered over the button on my pants.

"I'm gonna...have to...take-my-pants-off..." I awkwardly threw over my shoulder. Astrid shrugged.  
"So? It's only underwear, and to be fair I _have _seen you naked already...oh, and vice versa." Astrid said matter-of-factly. Somewhere in some photo album around the house was a photo of Astrid and I taking a bath together when we were five. I remember that day very well. She had lost her first loose tooth after it finally fell out due to some muddy rough-and-tumble we were playing in the backyard.

"Yeah, but that was when we were little and innocent, now we're big and-"  
"Guilty?" Astrid joked. I shook my head and chuckled.

"That's a way of putting it…okay, come on…" I pulled my right leg out of my pants, worked the denim over my left shoe and after some wiggling, my pants finally came off altogether and fell to the floor. Astrid came and sat to my right, eyeing me up and down. I think she was secretly liking my black and red striped trunks as I noticed her eyes slowed down and came to a halt over my lower torso.

"You look like a cyborg porn star," Astrid teased.

"Oh, all I need for that is a moustache and a mullet and I am ready for action," I said theatrically. We shared a laugh.

"But in all seriousness, I've never seen a prosthetic up close. This is really cool," Astrid said as she looked at it.

"Yeah, it really is…wearing it though is gonna be tedious; I have to wear like three or four compression socks over my stump before I put it on."

"Wow. Can you take them off when you go to bed or do you have to always wear them?"

"The doctor said only take them off when I'm in-the-shower-slash-swimming, or not using my leg altogether."

"Hm…"

"Yeah…here, I'll show you how I take it off." I walked her through the fairly simple process and carefully leaned my leg against the nightstand but dramatically slowed down when I got to my last compression sock.

"What is it, Hiccup?" Astrid gently asked.

"I just…are you okay with seeing the scar? I don't wanna gross you out or anything."

"It's just a scar, Hiccup. Don't worry," Astrid said as she rubbed my bare shoulder. I nodded and took the last sock off. I swung my stump around to face me and Astrid, and there it still was; a white scar, slowly fading out.

"Wow…" Astrid murmured.

"Mm-hm," I agreed. To my surprise, she slowly reached out towards it.

"C-can I?" she asked.

"Touch it? Uh…sure," I said as I scratched my head. Astrid shuffled closer to me and lightly traced the scar. Surprisingly, the nerves around and below my knee had gotten a lot more sensitive since the accident, and I couldn't help but let out a gasp and drop my head onto her shoulder. Astrid suddenly stopped.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, that just felt really nice," I said.

"Oh no, it's not your G-Spot, is it?" My head shot up, but I relaxed when I caught the hint.

"Oh, _har-har,"_ I deadpanned. After a moment of silence, Astrid then scoffed, laughed as if she was embarrassed and hid her face in her hands.

"That reminds me: My Mum also mentioned so long as we take the necessary precautions, she's cool with us…you know…"

My eyes shot open in alarm. "Seriously? She _said _that to you?"

"Heh, yeah...don't think I've been more embarrassed in my life. I was on the verge of yelling at her because Kye was sitting with us but luckily she spoke in code."

"Don't blame you for being embarrassed! When I got the talk from my parents I thought my head was gonna blow off my shoulders."

"Aw, poor you," Astrid said as she jokingly patted my head, which then turned into massaging my scalp, making me roll my eyes back into my skull and hum in pleasure.

"THAT's my G-Spot," I chuckled. It felt so good I actually started to lie back down on the bed. Astrid guided me in her arms so I'd have a soft landing. She stopped and I opened my eyes. I stared at her with utter adoration as I held out my arms to her.

"Come here, you," I said sleepily. Astrid eagerly situated her body across mine and cuddled into me, leaving a kiss on my nose and lips in her wake. Inside, my nerves were set alight as our bare stomachs came in contact with each other and I was thrilled. I cuddled closer to her as I prepared myself to ask something I wasn't entirely sure I should ask.

"Astrid?"

"Hm?"

"Would it be okay if we...talked about...uh..._you know..._" I heard her chuckle softly.

"What? Sex?" She asked as she raised her head to look at me.

"Yeah," I replied with a small voice.

"Yeah, of course, Hiccup. We're seventeen, and together; We can talk about this kind of stuff."

"Oh, phew! I thought you'd be grossed out if I asked." She chuckled again and kissed my forehead thoughtfully.

"First thing about sex, Hiccup, is that its gross, but we dumb humans do it anyway. It's only normal."

"Heh, yeah...I know we've only come close to doing anything once, but, are there any things you've found that you like or don't like? Just for when the time comes, you know?"

"Well, you know I obviously can't speak from first hand experience-"

"That makes two of us," I interrupted.

"Ha, but, I have watched some things and done things on my own..." **_JESUS CHRIST! _**"_..._But at the moment I'm just interested in doing anything the vanilla way...what about you, Haddock? Any fantasies or fetishes I should be aware of?" I couldn't help but laugh.

"Well, like you I have seen things I can't un-see and...done stuff to myself that's- UGH this is embarrassing..." I hid my face in her neck.

"Hiccup, like I said, it's perfectly normal...don't worry about it," Astrid reassured.

"Right...well, yes, _that_ and... I've fantasized about us for the past year and a bit."

"Year and a bit?" Astrid asked, taken aback.

"Yeah...you're not mad, are you?"

"No, not at all! I'm just…wow...um, what are we...doing, in these fantasies?"

"It's always just the one, I've never seen anything else because to answer your other question, no, I don't have any fetishes...it's dark, except there's a bit of light coming from the outside of where we are...and we're taking each other's clothes off slowly, and...and..." I stopped for a moment in case my chest would contract, but I just reminded myself that I was safe here. I didn't notice Astrid tangled her fingers in my hair again and pulled me closer.

"Keep...talking..." Astrid murmured to my mouth. I noticed her jaw was trembling, like mine.

"And…I...I take you into my arms and I kiss the corner of your mouth, so softly..." As if on cue, I willed myself to do just that, and thumbed Astrid's cheek gently. Gradually, I enveloped Astrid completely and held her so tight I don't think even my Dad could've pulled us apart. Astrid and I's kissing got more heated and she suddenly rolled us over so I was on top instead of us being side-by-side. My fantasy became more vivid in my head and I could see Astrid taking my hands and guiding them to-

"You can put your hands on me if you want," Astrid exhaled. Thor's beard, this was happening exactly as I imagined it would!

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"I want you to."

"Uh…okay-okay," I nodded quickly. I unwound my arms from Astrid and she guided my hands toward her breasts. Not really knowing what to do, I just lightly massaged them over her bra, which earned me a small hum.

"Wait," Astrid said. She lightly pushed me back so I was sitting up and she came with me. Her hands guided mine to her back and came to rest over her bra hooks.

"Oh, my Gods," I murmured. "You really wanna do this?"

"More than you know," Astrid whispered seductively. **_Gods…_**

"Wait," I suddenly had a thought. "I'll be right back." I left a swift peck on her lips and put my compression socks and leg on before quickly leaving the bedroom. The television was turned on downstairs and Mum and Dad were laughing at whatever they were watching. Okay, that's a good start, I thought. I walked down the hall towards the rehearsal room. _We're gonna do this! Yes you are! Oh, but what if I'm no good. Get a grip, Hiccup! You guys love and trust each other, remember? Ugh, you're right. What am I thinking? This'll be great. _I opened the rehearsal room door and took off of it's hook a panel of foam that was cut to fit flush with the doorframe and carefully carried it back to my room. When I opened the door, I saw Astrid lying on her belly, in her bra and underpants with her feet nonchalantly kicking the air. To say it was sexy was an understatement. Her eyes shot open when she saw the foam and I shut the door.

"What the-…Oh! Clever, aren't you?" Astrid said.

"You know me; I always have a plan," I replied with a smirk. I hung it on a hook nailed to my door and turned to face Astrid.

"Get over here, stud," She demanded.

"With pleasure, milady," I sat at the end of the bed, took off my leg &amp; compression socks, crawled over to Astrid and situated her back in my lap. Renewed with this fresh sense of vigor and reassurance, I dared to trace a few kisses along her jaw and down to her jugular, where I lightly grazed my teeth over her skin, making her groan.

_"Agh…Hiccup…"_

My hands snaked around to her back and I carefully unhooked her bra which fell onto the sheets. My brain seemed to shut down as I looked at her with admiration and a want I'd never fully experienced until then. This was something for my eyes only. Any logical part of my consciousness seemed to disappear into the dark, leaving in it's place a primal instinct and the desire to be consumed by Astrid, never to return to the Earth.

"Astrid…_take me_," I shuddered, before quickly gathering her in my arms again and desperately kissing her over and over.

"What if you…get scared?" Astrid asked between kisses.

"I don't care…_take me_…_please," _I begged. I put my hands back on her breasts and massaged them carefully, giving me a more intense moan.

"Ughhhhhh…oh, Gods, I want you…I want you…" Astrid mewled as she leaned back and pulled me with her. I gasped audibly and felt a surge of adrenaline flow through me. She _wanted _me, and the very idea of that made my trunks become pretty restricted. Astrid ran her hands up and down my back as her tongue fought with mine but then retreated and she kissed my sternum, then my heart, tracing circles around my nipple with her tongue. I produced a moan that I'd never heard before. It was animalistic and high pitched. Then, another one came a bit louder when Astrid slid her hand down my torso and rested it on my crotch.

"Nugh...wait, do we need a—Ugh!" Astrid's hand found its way into my trunks and grabbed hold of me. "Do we need a condom?" I asked breathlessly. I had a packet hiding in the sock drawer next to my bed but I was slightly taken aback when Astrid shook her head and smiled.

"Been on the pill ever since the Scott thing."

"Oh, okay…should we, uh…" I jerked my head towards our underpants.

"Yeah," Astrid said eagerly. She took her hands off of me and helped me remove my trunks. I felt them slide down my legs and go past my foot. _Oh, my Gods, she's seeing all of me. _I briefly shut my eyes in embarrassment after I heard my trunks land on the floor with a _flop!,_ but opened them and saw Astrid eye my now fully-at-attention private area with…trepidation?

"You okay?" I asked as I touched her arm. She snapped out of a daze and looked up at me.

"Sorry, just…wow, heh," she chuckled. I laughed myself.

"Okay, now for you…" I said lowly. I grabbed her underpants and pulled them down to her ankles, which promptly kicked them off. I think my reaction to seeing Astrid's mirrored her own.

"Gods," I shivered. The lust kicked in a little more and I dared to trail kisses up Astrid's thigh, do a loop around her belly button with my tongue and pause for a moment over her heart before our tongues clashed again. I unconsciously started to line myself up and Astrid wrapped her legs around me.

"You're beautiful," I heard Astrid whisper when we broke for air. I smiled down at her, grabbed her right hand and kissed her fingers, which lingered and brushed my fringe out of my face, then held my cheek.

"I love you," I said as I leaned into her touch. I then heard her chuckle.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Nothing, I just…I didn't ask if you wanted this."

"I've wanted this for a long time, Astrid…uh, oh, Gods, that sounded creepy." I hid my face in her neck again. She giggled.

"Why ya hiding?"

"_Because _what I said was creepy…okay, now I'm killing the mood, I'm sorry—"

"Shh…" Astrid silenced me with a finger to my lips. "Shut up and take me." That sent me over the edge. My eyes dilated with excitement and I pushed my pelvis forward slowly. I was about to get inside. I looked at her and nodded one last time to check, and she warmly conceded.

"Okay…don't let go of me," I murmured.

"Never." She pecked my lips and pulled on my hips. And then…with a loud gasp from the both of us, we were one. The ground seemed to disappear underneath us and we had gone somewhere else, where it was just her and I. I never wanted to leave. This was the start of the most incredible experience of my life, and I was eager to find out what else would happen. I cradled Astrid's neck with my right arm while my left hand slid down her right arm and interlocked with her fingers. I kept a slow and steady rhythm in case I hurt her, but as time passed she begged me to move faster and rewarded my action with mind-numbing kissing on my neck, giving me more energy to thrust into her. I felt myself coming too close after about two minutes and my breathing became more haggard. I think Astrid was too because I felt her fingers moving around near me and she was nearly as breathless as I was.

"_Astrid…" _I harshly shuddered.

_"Hiccup, I'm g—ugh!" _She cried. Eventually, our groans followed each other in sync and very suddenly, our climaxes came and we breathlessly cried out as we held each other in a sweaty breathy embrace. I felt her clench around me and my orgasm was the most overwhelming I'd felt. I slowly withdrew myself from her and rolled to my side, never letting go of Astrid.

"Gods, I was just…somewhere else with you…just lost…" I whispered.

"Yeah…"

"It was just you and me…"

"I know, I…everything else just disappeared…and I loved it…Hiccup…"

And then we fell asleep, our mouths millimetres apart.


	34. Chapter 34

**Hey everyone. I don't even know how long it's been since I touched this story, so purely on the basis that the time spent away from this has been virtually unfathomable, I truly apologise for going dark for several months. I've been busy with being a first year at university but now I'm finally finished for a few months, so I thought I may as well get at least one chapter done before Snoggletog comes around. Little update that's RYP related; those lyrics that Hiccup wrote ****back at Astrid's house before he lost his leg? Well, they made it into an actual song I wrote with my band, Burn The Light. We're on Facebook and Bandcamp if you want to give us a listen (FYI we're pretty heavy, so just a heads up). Without further ado, let's hop straight back into it!**

**PS, another author's note at the bottom of the chapter with a little surprise.**

* * *

I was asleep. No big deal, really. Everybody sleeps -well, except for night owls, like my dad. This time, though, I wasn't alone. She was still here, next to me, and the thought of that made me so happy. The happy thoughts, however, were interrupted by a sliver of sunlight that beckoned me to open my eyes. I did so slowly, and the sunlight was suddenly blocked out by Astrid, who was sitting up and looking out the window, watching the world wake up. She was hugging her knees to her chest, which stuck up underneath the doona. The sun created a halo around her body which was wonderful to look at, and I started to smile. She must've felt me stir, because she then turned her head to face me, and grinned.

"Good morning," Astrid said.

"Hey," I replied, sitting up as I did so. "Did you sleep okay?" Astrid nodded.

"Better than in a long time."

"Me too." I took her hand and ran my thumb across her palm.

"How was, uh, last night for you?" I asked nervously.

"...I really loved it, Hiccup," Astrid said warmly. "You?"

"Yeah, same, it was, uh, definitely something I won't forget," I said as I smiled and nodded.

"Hm, well I'm glad to hear." Astrid rested her head on my shoulder and gave it a gentle kiss. I wrapped one arm around her and pulled her closer, tilting her jaw with my other free hand to kiss her lips. Her kisses got hotter as we continued and she eventually fisted her hand in my hair as she threw a leg over my lap and straddled me as we kept making out, our bodies flush against each other. Other parts of me began to wake up and we stopped to address the, uh..."problem".

"Would you like to...um..." Astrid had a blush creep across her face as she eyed my torso.

"Go again?" I excitedly asked. She laughed and hid her face on my shoulder, but I felt her head nod yes. My heart started racing and I held onto her tighter. "I'd love to," I whispered. I carefully sucked on her jugular to keep this going and I laid myself back down on the bed. Astrid's mouth found mine and soon after we were both gone again.

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**2 WEEKS LATER...**

I'd had a few more sessions of rehab for my leg and I was getting really close to not having to rely on Will's cane at all. And as time went on it meant that the summer holidays were coming to a close and Astrid and I would have to go back to school, and Will was gonna have his first day among other kids in an environment that wasn't a packed party...well, school is kinda-no, it's _totally_ packed, but there's no way in Hel that its a party. Needless to say, he was pretty nervous. New country and all, you know? The three of us were out to dinner at a decent pub that Gobber had just taken up work at to support himself while the music store was still in an unstable spot. Astrid was eating the Sunday Roast, which consisted of some chicken legs and some vegetables that I couldn't help but steal during a moment she wasn't looking at her plate, and Will threw me a wink and tapped his nose twice (What can I say? Pumpkin is delicious!), I was having salmon and salad, and Will was nervously eating a burger and fries. In 11 hours we'd be waking up and getting ready for school.

"You alright?" Astrid asked. Will threw a chip into his mouth and washed it down with his glass of Coke while holding up a hand telling Astrid to wait a moment.

"Sorry, Astrid," Will finally said after swallowing. "Uh...I don't know, honestly. Like, I know I should be fine by tomorrow once I get into the swing of things but...new school on the other side of the world? Gah! There are worse things that scare me so I have no frickin' clue why this does."

"Hey, it's understandable," I chimed in. "If I'll be honest with ya I'm probably just as scared as you are. It's been forever since my last attack and I remember having at least two on the first day back from Christmas break, and I'm hoping I'll be able to keep a lid on it."

"You'll be fine," Astrid said to me. "We'll all be fine. It's only the first day and it'll be over before we know it."

"Yeah, I s'pose," Will says half heartedly. I decided to change the subject.

"How's work?" I asked. Will pursed his lips and exhaled through his nose.

"I just got fired, actually..." I put down my fork.

"What?!" Astrid and I asked simultaneously. "Why?"

"See, that's the thing! I have no bloody clue why my manager let me go! I just remember us having a discussion about me getting different hours and I thought I was super reasonable, then the next day I go in to check my roster and he's taken my damn name off!"

"So he also fired you without telling you?" Astrid asked.

"Yeah!"

"That's considered unfair dismissal; you could have him reported for that, you know."

"Oh, I would, Astrid, but what's the point? I just wanna put this behind me...and anyway, I'm glad I don't work there anymore. He was a massive douche to me and one of my colleagues, and now I can throw everything into school and into our music."

"Yeah, I guess that's a positive," I shrugged.

"Totally! If my parents need me I can always go out to the zoo and lend a hand some days. Hey, we'd be working together if that happens!"

"Ha, yeah!" I chuckle. I picked up my glass of lemonade and held it out for a toast.

"Here's to moving forward." Will and Astrid smiled and raised their own glasses.

"Moving forward!" They said together.

_Clink!_

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**Okay, surprise time! I'm gonna take it upon myself to write a second HTTYD fic which will essentially be a re-telling of the film Silver Linings Playbook with the gang as the characters. Hopefully this will help me get back into a writing ****rhythm, plus I've been wanting to do this for a long time, so keep your eyes open for that. I'll try and get another chapter of RYP out before Snoggletog if I can. Until then, take care, and happy holidays!**


	35. Chapter 35

**Hey everybody. As most of us would know by now RTTE has returned to Netflix and MY GOD was that a good season! Those of you who binged watched it like I did will know of one specific scene that massively contributed to it's quality. I won't spoil it for people who aren't caught up yet, but those who know...*gush*. Anyway, this sudden surge of uplift gave me the push to write a new chapter and get the guys back to school, just like me in a week or so. That being said, LET'S GET IT!**

* * *

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BE-BE-BE-BEEP! BE-BE-BE-BEEP!_

I jolted awake and smacked the alarm clock's snooze button. 6:30.

"Oh, Gods..." I yawned as I stretched my arms. I rubbed my eyes and glanced at the foot of my bed, seeing Toothless jump onto the mattress and walk over to me.

"Morning, bud," I said as I tickled him under his chin. He reared up on his back legs, leaned on my chest and gave my cheek a grand nuzzling. "Good to see you, too."

_Miaow._

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm getting ready." I gently picked him up and placed him on the empty side of my bed before pulling the covers off myself and attaching my leg. It still hurt a little bit to walk without my cane which I stupidly left downstairs overnight so I opted to make use of the new foldaway chair my doctor installed for me in my shower. I'll admit it was a little undignified to look at when you're in my shoe, but hey, it's doing its job and that's the important thing. I awkwardly hobbled into my bathroom, took off my pyjamas and turned the water on. As I waited for it to heat up, I took my leg off and leaned it next to the towel rack. _Just in case I mess it up somehow. _Then I hopped on my one foot over to the shower frame and grabbed onto the glass wall as I found my balance again. The chair was in easy reach and I made fast work of folding it down. I hopped inside, shut the door and sat down, dousing myself in sweet warmth.

_Miaow!_

I looked towards the walk in robe and saw Toothless coming straight for me.

"Oh, you wanna join me?" I asked. He started scratching at the glass door. I opened it and he excitedly jumped into the water, eagerly lapping and pawing at the drops raining down on us.

"You are such a special cat, aren't you?" I laughed. This wasn't anything new to me but it was pretty refreshing seeing this whenever he wanted to play while I was showering. Really helped me ground myself. Aside from my rehab to strengthen my leg, my doctor was also giving me some coaching on how to emotionally deal with it and any other things in life that might stress me, and what's been helping lately is to focus on tangible things and their finer details; in this case, Toothless, who has luminescent green eyes and his coat now feels really soaked, compared to the softness it bears when he's dry. Him being here with me helped me calm down before my first day back at school.

After I dried myself and my cat off, I re-attached my leg and put some fresh clothes on; a green Henley shirt, some jeans and my black Converse. I packed my bag before I went to bed so all I had to do was take it downstairs with me and have breakfast. I was halfway through eating my cereal at the kitchen island when I heard Dad enter.

"Morning, Hiccup."

"Hey, Dad," I waved my spoon at him.

"Sleep alright?"

"Yeah, our dinner last night really tuckered me out."

"Ah, good, Gobber's putting some meat on your bones!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh I don't know, I guess...maybe you could just do with a little more filling out, that's all."

"I appreciate the kind words, Dad, but I'm happy with how I look."

"Is Astrid, though?"

"What? Yeah, I-Gah, _Dad_, are we really going there?!" My cheeks were practically on fire. How did he know about...

"Going where?" He quirked an eyebrow. I think he was trying to rile me up.

"Uh, I-you know what, forget it. Uh, anyway, are you working today?"

"Yep, unfortunately. I'll be gone for a week, actually."

"Another interstater?" I asked.

"Mm-hm," he nodded solemnly, but then suddenly put on a happy face. "On the bright side, it's only a week, and I'll be back before everyone knows it."

"Yeah," I smiled. He approached me and laid a hand on my shoulder.

"Have a good day back, son." I patted his humongous arm.

"Thanks Dad, travel safe." With a final nod, he turned, picked up his suitcase patiently waiting by the door and left. I finished my cereal, put the bowl in the dishwasher and turned on the TV to watch some news before it was time to leave for school.

_"...Clear skies for the rest of the week here in Berk. Back to you Brian! Thanks Tom. Now to some developing news...a man who was arrested after drunk driving and hitting a car carrying three teenage passengers almost a month ago has been officially found guilty. The 46 year old male was driving down the CBD's Main Street in July, at speeds of over 100 miles per hour, with a blood alcohol reading of .25, -5 times over the legal limit- when he crashed into a sedan carrying three teenage passengers, one of them being Henry Haddock, son of Haddock Lumber's CEO. The 17 year old was driving himself and his two friends home from a party when disaster struck, resulting in the loss of Mr Haddock's leg. "I'm just glad they got the sod and that nothin' like this'll ever happen again."_

"Gobber? Huh, way to make the news."

_"The man has been sentenced to 6 years behind bars. We attempted to reach Stoick Haddock for a comment but representatives of his family and company have asked to respect their privacy on the situation at hand. More on this story as it develops."_

"Go Dad," I said. "Can't deal with a crowd like that at the moment...but he's gone now. Thank Thor this is all over." I looked up at the clock above the TV, which read 7:30.

"Okay, time to move." I turned the TV off, gathered my things and headed outside to my car. The drive to school didn't take very long but I was picking up Astrid so I had to take a little detour. I pulled up out the front of her house and sent her a text to let her know I arrived. Shortly after, Astrid, in a blur of blonde, blue and red, burst out the front door fumbling with the straps on her backpack. I stifled a giggle and saw Kye emerge from behind her, wearing his dragon onesie. He waved to me with a ginormous grin and I chuckled and returned the greeting. Astrid opened the passenger door and practically dived into her seat.

"Sorry, I think I overslept," she exhaled.

"You _think?" _I teased.

"Shush you, now get us to school," she yawned.

"You got it." I put the car into drive and slowly moved away from the house.

"BYE GUYS!" I heard Kye scream at the top of his lungs. Astrid waved her hand goodbye out the open window and rolled it up.

"Sorry about my rush, Hiccup."

"Hey it's no big deal. If it's any consolation I had a little trouble getting out of bed myself this morning myself."

"Hm...oh, almost forgot." Astrid opened her bag and pulled out a thermos. "Coffee?"

"Oh, yes please," I accepted gratefully. Astrid poured us a travel mug each and handed me mine when we were stopped at a red light. I took a sip, expecting the worst but it was actually good.

"Ah, that's better," I sighed. "How ya feelin'?

"Pretty good, actually," Astrid said happily. "I'm excited, what about you?"

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna get through today without...well, you know."

"Hey, if anything like that does happen, you just come straight to me or Will, got it?" Astrid placed her hand on mine.

"Yeah, I know. Thank you." I leaned forward and pecked her on the lips before advancing through the intersection. "Same goes for you, too, don't forget."

"Yeah, of course." Astrid warmly smiled at me and gave my free hand a squeeze. We remained like that until we reached the school parking lot and found a space to slip into. There were kids piling in from every direction. I scanned the crowd for a sign of Will but I couldn't see him anywhere. Then the stampede seemed to have grown in size in a blink and that all too familiar feeling started creeping up my throat and slowly started to constrict. My breathing became shallow and my grip on the steering wheel was turning my knuckles white.

"Oh godsdammit..." I muttered.

"Hiccup?"

"It's starting already." I murmured. I swallowed and looked down to see Astrid undo my seatbelt, then hers, and get out of the car. Where was she going? Oh no, she's not mad at me is she? She came around, opened my door and held out her hand.

"Get out, Hiccup."

"W-What? Why, wha-did I do something?"

"Shh, it's okay, just get out of the car." I could see that she looked probably as worried as I was. I wordlessly got out of the car and she placed both her hands on my shoulders.

"Look at me," she calmly instructed. "Look right at me." I followed her direction and found her eyes boring into mine. Yep, she definitely was as nervous as me. "We're a team, and we've gotta look after each other more now."

"Yeah, yeah I know, I'm sorry if I worried-"

"Shh, it's fine. I have you here with me, and that's all that matters." Astrid slid her arms around me and pulled us closer together for a hug. I honestly could've stayed like that for the whole day. I remembered what my doctor said; _Focus on tangible things and their finer details. _Astrid's red shirt was made of cotton and felt freshly washed &amp; dried, her blonde hair feels smooth as silk and smells like berries, and her hands at my back feel gentle. Like Toothless, she was bringing me back to Earth. I gave her a squeeze and slowly withdrew.

"Thank you."  
"Thank you." We said simultaneously. We stared at each other in amazement and shared a small laugh. I reached into the car to grab my cane and our bags and handed Astrid's hers while putting on my own pack. After shutting the door and locking the car, I held my hand out.

"Milady?" Astrid smiled took my hand and we made our way towards school. As we got closer to the front entrance I became aware of a few people staring at us.

"Should we let go?" Astrid whispered. I shook my head.

"If people don't like it, that's their problem." She nodded in agreement and we kept going.

"Guys!" a familiar voice called out. We turned around and Will was jogging up towards us in a pair of chinos and an Architects shirt with a piece of black tape wrapped around the left sleeve. He sounded out of breath.

"Hey, you okay, bud?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm...ugh, I'm fine, I just got a little lost on my way here."

"Oh boy," Astrid said. "You all good?" Will was still leaning on his knees and breathing heavily.

"One second," he huffed as he got his breath back. He then stood up straight.

"Ahh, okay I'm good." Will resumed walking towards us.

"Yeah?" I asked as I patted him on the shoulder.

"Yeah, dude, I'm ready. We ready?" The three of us looked at each other.

"Let's do this." I confidently said.

* * *

**Ah, it feels good to be writing again. Please read, review and follow.**


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